A new air operated contactor based on impinging-streams tech nique for liquid - liquid extraction processes has been proposed. The device has been applied in the study of extraction of benzoic acid by means of distilled water from kerosene. In addition, the effects of air and aqueous flow rates, contactor length and diameter, as well as the effect of impinging streams and modes of operation have been investigated. The overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient determined (K(L)a) enabled us to evaluate the performance capability of the contactor. These experimental results indicate that the contactor is an efficient device for extraction processes.