New apparatus for liquid-liquid extraction, "emulsion flow" extractor

Yanase, Nobuyuki; Naganawa, Hirochika  ; Nagano, Tetsushi  ; Noro, Junji*

A simple and low-cost apparatus for continuous and efficient liquid-liquid extraction, which does not need continual mechanical forces (stirring, shaking, etc.) other than solution sending, has newly been developed. This apparatus is composed of a column part where an emulsion state fluid flow (emulsion flow) is generated by spouting micrometer-sized droplets of an aqueous phase into an organic phase and a phase separating part where the emulsion flow is destabilized by means of a sudden decrease in its flow rate. In the present study, the performance of an emulsion flow apparatus in the extraction of Yb(III) and U(VI) from aqueous HNO solutions into isooctane containing D2EHPA was evaluated. The mixing efficiency of the emulsion flow apparatus was found to be comparable with that of a popular liquid-liquid extractor, mixer-settler. Moreover, the emulsion flow apparatus proved to have an overwhelming advantage in terms of phase-separating ability.