Study of extraction rate for uranyl nitrate-TBP/n-dodecane in a single drop column

The rate of mass transfer of uranyl nitrate from the aqueous phase of 2N nitric acid to the organic phase of tributyl phosphate/n-dodecane mixture has been determined in a single drop column without external force, and the motion of the single droplet rising through the aqueous phase has been also observed in preliminary experiments. The mass transfer rate was increased with an increase of uranyl nitrate concentration in the aqueous phase. The effect of the drop size on mass transfer rate was significant at high uranyl nitrate concentration in the aqueous phase but not significant at low uranyl nitrate concentration. The correlations for terminal velocities of droplets with drop size and physical properties of both phases are also presented