Abstract
Microfluidic solvent extraction was studied as an alternative technique for mineral rocessing. Complex solutions containing sub-micron particles were used to imick the behavior of non-ideal leach solutions. Leach solutions containing particles or surfactant can be slow to phase separate from the organic phase in bulk extractions and, in many cases, phase separation is totally arrested. In contrast, we show that phase separation can be rapidly achieved on a microfluidic chip, even at high particle concentrations. © 2009 CBMS.