Computer simulation of flow‐sheets for the solvent extraction of uranium: a new route to delay the effect of chemical degradation of the organic phase during uranium recovery from acidic sulfate media

BACKGROUND: The extractants used in solvent extraction processes undergo degradation under thermal, chemical and radiolytical stresses. In the case of uranium plants, tri‐n‐octylamine, used as an extractant, slowly degrades into di‐n‐octylamine. Such degradation causes a gradual depletion of the uranium extraction isotherms and as a result, of the efficiency of uranium recovery from feed solutions. The present work highlights a new route to delay this depletion of the extraction efficiency, merely by optimizing the flow‐sheets involved in the process. Five flow‐sheets have been compared for uranium recovery from acidic sulfate media by a solution of 0.146 mol L⁻¹ tri‐n‐octylamine in kerosene modified with 5% w/w 1‐tridecanol and stripping with a 199 g L⁻¹ Na₂CO₃ solution. These five flow‐sheets include the classical counter‐current flow‐sheet with four mixers–settlers in extraction and three mixers–settlers in stripping and four unusual combined solvent extraction flow‐sheets with two independent extraction stripping loops and with one or two feed inlets. RESULTS: Computer simulation supplied evidence of the strong influence of the studied flow‐sheets on the sturdiness of the process. More precisely, the unusual combined solvent extraction flow‐sheets appeared to be significantly more efficient than the classical counter‐current one and it is shown that an advantage of this can be to delay the negative impact of gradual degradation of tri‐n‐octylamine on uranium recovery efficiency from acidic sulfate media. CONCLUSION: The replacement of classical counter‐current flow‐sheets with a unique extraction‐stripping loop in unusual combined flow‐sheets with two or more independent extraction‐stripping loops and with one or more feed inlets is a fruitful approach to delay the periodic addition of fresh tri‐n‐octylamine necessary for counter‐balancing the progressive degradation of the extraction solvent and, as a result, to delay the gradual depletion of the efficiency of uranium recovery. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry