Liquid-Liquid Extraction Equipment

Solvent extraction processing has demonstrated the ability to achieve high decontamination factors for uranium and plutonium while operating at high throughputs. Historical application of solvent extraction contacting equipment implies that for the HA cycle (primary separation of uranium and plutonium from fission products) the equipment of choice is pulse columns. This is likely due to relatively short residence times (as compared to mixer-settlers) and the ability of the columns to tolerate solids in the feed. Savannah River successfully operated the F-Canyon with centrifugal contactors in the HA cycle (which have shorter residence times than columns). All three contactors have been successfully deployed in uranium and plutonium purification cycles. Over the past 20 years, there has been significant development of centrifugal contactor designs and they have become very common for research and development applications. New reprocessing plants are being planned in Russia and China and the United States has done preliminary design studies on future reprocessing plants. The choice of contactors for all of these facilities is yet to be determined.