Glossary
Liquid-liquid extraction Process design

Thinner; diluent

Liquid or mixture of liquids in which the extractant and any phase modifier(s) are dissolved. The term diluent should not be confused with the term solvent.

Extractant; extractant or extracting agent

Active compound in the solvent, primarily responsible for transferring one or more solutes from one phase to another.

Extract; extract

Separate phase (often organic, but not necessarily) containing the solute(s) extracted from the other phase.

Modifier (phase); edit

Substances other than extractants and diluents used in the composition of the solvent and introduced to improve certain properties of the system (settling aid, delay in the formation of third phases, etc.).

Solvent (in liquid-liquid extraction); solvent

All of the initial liquid phase into which one or more solutes are transferred (it should be emphasized that...