Extraction processes equipment

Corrosiveness-may require use of more expensive materials of construction for the extraction process equipment. 

Extraction, a unit operation, is a complex and rapidly developing subject area (1,2). The chemistry of extraction and extractants has been comprehensively described (3,4). The main advantage of solvent extraction as an industrial process Hes in its versatiHty because of the enormous potential choice of solvents and extractants. The industrial appHcation of solvent extraction, including equipment design and operation, is a subject in itself (5). The fundamentals and technology of metal extraction processes have been described (6,7), as has the role of solvent extraction in relation to the overall development and feasibiHty of processes (8). The control of extraction columns has also been discussed (9). 

The plutonium extracted by the Purex process usually has been in the form of a concentrated nitrate solution or symp, which must be converted to anhydrous PuF [13842-83-6] or PuF, which are charge materials for metal production. The nitrate solution is sufficientiy pure for the processing to be conducted in gloveboxes without P- or y-shielding (130). The Pu is first precipitated as plutonium(IV) peroxide [12412-68-9], plutonium(Ill) oxalate [56609-10-0], plutonium(IV) oxalate [13278-81-4], or plutonium(Ill) fluoride. These precipitates are converted to anhydrous PuF or PuF. The precipitation process used depends on numerous factors, eg, derived purity of product, safety considerations, ease of recovering wastes, and required process equipment. The peroxide precipitation yields the purest product and generally is the preferred route (131). The peroxide precipitate is converted to PuF by HF—O2 gas or to PuF by HF—H2 gas (31,132). 

The separation of components by liquid-liquid extraction depends primarily on the thermodynamic equilibrium partition of those components between the two liquid phases. Knowledge of these partition relationships is essential for selecting the ratio or extraction solvent to feed that enters an extraction process and for evaluating the mass-transfer rates or theoretical stage efficiencies achieved in process equipment. Since two liquid phases that are immiscible are used, the thermodynamic equilibrium involves considerable evaluation of nonideal solutions. In the simplest case a feed solvent F contains a solute that is to be transferred into an extraction solvent S. 

The main objective for calculating the number of theoretical stages (or mass-transfer units) in the design of a hquid-liquid extraction process is to evaluate the compromise between the size of the equipment, or number of contactors required, and the ratio of extraction solvent to feed flow rates required to achieve the desired transfer of mass from one phase to the other. In any mass-transfer process there can be an infinite number of combinations of flow rates, number of stages, and degrees of solute transfer. The optimum is governed by economic considerations. 

Equipment and Processes Equipment and supplies should be placed in the cupboard before a procedure commences. Unnecessary equipment should be removed. High-input heat sources within a cupboard will cause convection currents that can disturb the flow and should be avoided if possible. Work should be carried out well within the cupboard, at least 150 mm from the plane of the sash whenever possible. It should not however be placed closer than 50 mm to the lower extract slot of a back baffle. Large pieces of equipment should if possible be raised 25 to 50 mm above the working surface of the cupboard to improve the flow in the cupboard. 

Chapter 5—CCPS Generic Failure Rate Data Base Contains tables of generic process equipment reliability data that are structured by the CCPS Taxonomy. The data are extracted from data resources in Chapter 4. The chapter includes a discussion of the selection, treatment, and presentation of the data in the Tables. 

SAIC provided much of the data used in this book from its proprietary files of previously analyzed and selected information. Since these data were primarily from the nuclear power industry, a literature search and industry survey described in Chapter 4 were conducted to locate other sources of data specific to the process equipment types in the CCPS Taxonomy. Candidate data resources identified through this effort were reviewed, and the appropriate ones were selected. Applicable failure rate data were extracted from them for the CCPS Generic Failure Rate Data Base. The resources that provided failure information are listed in Table 5.1 with data reference numbers used in the data tables to show where the data originated. 

Details of the tantalum and niobium extraction process depend on the type of raw material used, decomposition method, initial solution composition, extractant type, equipment specifications, type of final products and desired purity. Therefore, process parameters are usually defined individually for each specific case. This may be the reason for the existence of the wide variety of publications devoted to the liquid-liquid extraction of tantalum and niobium. Nevertheless, some common features of the process should be emphasized. 

The cyclic oligomers are only slightly soluble in water and dilute solutions of caprolactam. They tend to separate out from die extracted waste during die process of concentration and chemical purification of die caprolactam. The cyclic oligomers tend to form on the walls of the equipment used in die process equipment. 6-Aminocaproic acid or sodium 6-aminocaproate may also be found in die oligomeric waste, especially if sodium hydroxide is used to initiate die caprolactam polymerization. 

Laboratories working frequently with flammables, such as in extraction processes, may set aside a separate room for such work for maximum safety. Ideally, this room should have explosion-proof electrical equipment and special ventilation. Rigid work rules should be enforced, such as requiring workers to leave matches and lighters on a shelf outside before entering. Installation of conductive flooring should be considered, and steel tools should be prohibited at times when work is in progress. 

The selection of the equipment for an extraction process is influenced by the factors which are responsible for limiting the extraction rate. Thus, if the diffusion of the solute through... 

In the incessant scramble to reduce capital and operating costs, chemical engineers adapted a related technique for removing benzene from benzene concentrate. For years, absorption, a gas/liquid extraction process, has been used for separations in refinery gas plants and natural gas plants. It only took a technique for using the special absorbents, the same ones used in solvent extraction, to reduce the complexity of the equipment and the processing costs. See Figure 2-5)... 

Commercially available equipment for small-scale continuous test work on a solvent extraction process is limited. Generally, a series of small mixer-settlers... 

Because of the diversity of contacting equipment available, it is unlikely that all these contactors will be available in any one laboratory or pilot plant. Consequently, unless test work is carried out on similar contactors, the system may not be optimized. Since mixer-settlers are the easiest to construct, are simple to operate, and require little room and low-flow rates, these contactors are, in many cases, the only ones used to investigate a continuous solvent extraction process. This is by no means ideal and may result in abandonment of a process that, using another type of contactor, could be found to be entirely satisfactory. 

Design of extraction processes and equipment is based on mass transfer and thermodynamic data. Among such thermodynamic data, phase equilibrium data for mixtures, that is, the distribution of components between different phases, are among the most important. Equations for the calculations of phase equilibria can be used in process simulation programs like PROCESS and ASPEN. 

The process equipment consists mainly of two extraction columns with pulsating trays and four distillation columns according to Fig. 10.4 [7]. The feed, with a high content of aromatics, is pumped to the middle of the first extraction column where the aromatics are extracted with the solvent SI (tetraethylene glycol). In the lower part, the extracted aromatics are washed with S2 (dodecane). The outgoing raffinate phase R1 (containing aliphatics,... 

As a result of these various pretreatments, the hydrolysis experiments were carried out on three different starting materials autohydrolysed aspen wood made either in batch or in continuous equipment and the cellulosic residue of the autohydro-lysis-caustic extraction process. 

---