Development of new centrifuges for fast solvent extraction of transactinide elements

1995

The H-0.3 liquid-liquid centrifuge applied for rapid and efficient separation of two liquid phases, and the HG-0.1 gas-liquid centrifuge used to separate the gas phase stemming from a gas jet transportation system and the liquid phase, have been further improved. New centrifuges have been produced of PEEK, a plastic material, which makes them resistant to most aqueous and organic solutions. The performance with respect to time behavior and phase purity is comparable to the titanium centrifuges used so far. The H-0.3 centrifuge has been applied to solvent extraction studies of Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W and Pa from HF solutions into tri-n-octylamine.