The redesign and construction of a rotating disc contactor

Liquid-liquid extraction has played a major role in the processing of nuclear fuels. The Department of Chemical Engineering of the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy realizing this, petitioned the Atomic Energy Commission for funds to design and construct an instructional facility representing the chemical processing of nuclear fuels. With this unit and its solvent recovery equipment, in which stress is placed on extraction and distillation, not only are the principles of nuclear fuels processing demonstrated, but the more basic concepts of mass and energy transfer are also illustrated. Extraction depends upon solubility differences to achieve a transfer of a solute between two liquids which are totally or partially immiscible in each other. Distillation depends upon the difference in vapor pressure of two or more liquids for separation. Two types of extraction columns were specified for this unit. First was the rotating disc contactor, a column gaining wide acceptance in the petroleum industry. The other was the pulsed, sieve-plate, extraction column which is used extensively in the processing of uranium ores. Complete instrumentation was specified so that students could become familiar with their use, have control of the entire unit, as well as have a complete and continuous record of the major variables. The columns themselves are constructed of glass for visual inspection. The purpose of this investigation was to redesign and construct the rotating disc contactor which together with the pulse extraction column make up the extraction unit. This unit is an instructional facility representing the chemical processing of nuclear fuels. Basic calibrations were made on the unit and detailed operating procedures prepared for both columns --Introduction, pages 1-2