Experimental and CFD scale-up studies for intensified actinide/lanthanide separations

Abstract

In this paper, systematic studies are performed to identify the parameters that influence the selective separation of actinides from a mixture with lanthanides in small channels. In particular, the separation of dioxouranium metal ions (UO2+2) from a binary U(VI)/Er(III) mixture in a nitric acid solution by an organic TBP/kerosene (Exxsol D80) phase, relevant to spent nuclear fuel reprocessing is investigated. The effects of parameters such as TBP concentration, organic-to-aqueous phase flow rate ratio, channel size, and residence time on mass transfer are evaluated, whilst the mass transfer performance in the extraction channels is further analysed using two important hydrodynamic features, i.e. plug formation time and interfacial area to volume ratio. Circular channels with diameters from 1 to 3 mm are used to investigate the effect of scale on the mass transfer characteristics. The importance of the mixing zone on mass transfer is also evaluated. A CFD model is proposed to simulate the mass transfer during plug flow. Using only one experimental point, once the plug has been formed, the model is able to predict extraction percentage with less than 4% difference compared to the experiments.