Carbon materials for effective purification of aqueous solutions from tributyl phosphate.

This study investigates various sorbents for the effective sorption of dissolved organic substances, using tributyl phosphate (TBP) as a model compound. TBP is one of the most commonly used extractants in the nuclear industry. Four different carbon materials with high specific surface areas (2000-3000 m g) were selected for evaluation. The sorption of TBP from nitric acid solutions was examined over a wide range of concentrations. The samples with the largest specific surface areas showed the highest sorption capacity for organic matter. To enable repeated use, a purification scheme was developed to restore the sorbents' original properties. The samples were subjected to various treatments, analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and used in subsequent sorption experiments.