Development of a model to calculate scale-up and performance of column extractors

The calculation of extractor length and apparatus scale-up in multistage extractors used in nuclear reprocessing is yet to be satisfactorily executed despite the fact that global models have been used. An experimental and theoretical research program is in progress to provide the fundamental base for the performance prediction, design and scale-up of extraction columns for reactive and non-reactive solvent extractions. Toward this goal, the complete analysis of mechanically agitated reactive dispersions in extraction columns has been undertaken with consideration of (1) droplet rate processes of coalescence and redispersion, (2) macroscopic flow patterns of both phases, (3) microscopic interphase transport processes, and (4) extraction equilibrium and chemical kinetics