Use of Electric Fields in Solvent Extraction: A Review and Prospectus

Electric fields have been used in applications related to solvent extraction for nearly seventy years, primarily to break aqueous-in-organic emulsions. It was not until about twenty years ago that the use of electric fields was contemplated as a means of driving and controlling extraction processes. The initial ideas revolved around droplet formation from charged nozzles and have led to development of several designs for continuous contacting devices. Electric field driven devices are not used to any signific an text entin industry, but recent results in this area, some of which are described in this paper, suggest that this technique may produce systems that are an order of magnitude more effective than present day machines.