Advances in Centrifugal Contactor Design for Nuclear Application

Centrifugal contactors are one type of solvent extraction equipment utilized in the nuclear industry as part of the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear waste treatment. Recent advances to the centrifugal contactor design have been made and/or tested at the Idaho National Laboratory that will improve operability and reliability of the centrifugal contactor in nuclear applications. This includes remote design concepts for pilot-scale centrifugal contactors, remote design concepts for production-scale centrifugal contactors, and design and testing of a clean-in-place capability for solids removal. These designs will be detailed and results of testing presented.