A centrifugal contactor of novel design has been developed for the solvent extraction processing of nuclear fuels. The novel aspect is that the aqueous and organic solutions are fed directly into the annulus between the hollow 4-in.-dia rotor and the casing and are mixed by skin friction as they flow down¬ward. This design eliminates the mixing chamber, mixing paddle, and injection nozzle employed in the centrifugal contactor design developed at the AEC's Savannah River (SR) Plant. High through¬put is achieved by the high length-to-diameter (L/D) ratio com¬bined with high operating speed (to 3500 rpm).
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