Mass Transfer Coefficients in Pulsed Column for Separation of Samarium and Gadolinium

Abstract

The mass transfer performance of a pulsed disc and doughnut column for extraction of samarium and gadolinium from aqueous nitrate solution with D2EHPA was investigated. The effects of operating parameters such as pulsation intensity, continuous and dispersed phase velocities on column performance were investigated. The axial dispersion model was used to obtain the overall mass transfer coefficient. The previous models for overall mass transfer coefficient were reviewed and compared with experimental data. A new correlation was derived for prediction of the overall mass transfer coefficients. The presented model was compared with the experimental results and a good agreement between them was obtained.The mass transfer experiments revealed the feasibility of operating the separation of samarium and gadolinium in the pulsed disc and doughnut columns.

Keywords

• mass transfer
• mathematical modeling
• solvent extraction
• axial mixing
• pulsed column
• rare metals