Preparation of a chromatographic solid support on the basis of perlite and separation of uranium on a TBP-loaded perlite column

The possibilities of preparing a packing for reversed phase column chromatography from Menderes' perlite were studied. Its physical and chemical characteristics were compared with other solid supports prepared from rocks, such as perlite and volcanic slags. A series of chemical treatments were applied to improve the mechanical and chemical properties of perlite. The experimental work covers the strong acid treatment, the strong base treatment and the silanization with DMCS. The raw perlite containing 70–73% SiO2 was treated with NaOH to make soluble silicates and to increase it. Thus the surface and mechanical characters of the modified perlite were determined. The mean surface OH group density and the specific surface area were 3.2 μmol/m2 and 9.2 m2/g, respectively. The modified perlite was silanized and hydrophized to load organic complexing agents. The TBP was fixed successfully on perlite up to 20% w/w. The packing prepared was used to study the chromatographic behavior of UO22+ Fe3+.