The modification of the layered silicate with a structural type 2:1 montmorillonite by the cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide was carried out. The obtained organomontmorillonite was milled for 2–25 min in a high-energy planetary ball mill. The structural and physicochemical characteristics of the modified montmorillonite and the mechanochemically activated montmorillonite were investigated using various methods such as X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and determination of the specific surface area as well as the parameters of the porous structure by the low-temperature adsorption–desorption of nitrogen. The modification of montmorillonite with the quaternary ammonium salt led to a slowdown of deformation and subsequent amorphization of the montmorillonite structure during the high-energy milling. Mechanochemical activation of the modified montmorillonite increased its sorption capacity nine times, with the maximum uranium sorption achieved after mechanochemical treatment for 10 min.

The paper investigates the regulation of the hydrophobicity of KARBON™ carbon adsorbents by restoring its surface during heat treatment in argon and hydrogen, as well as oxidizing it with nitric acid. The sorption capacity of KARBON™ with respect to the tryptophan, arginine, indole, creatinine and vitamin B12 as biologically active organic compounds of different molecular weight was studied. It was determined that the adsorption capacity of KARBON™ samples with respect to all the studied substances changes as follows: Ind>Cr>Trp>Arg>B12. It has been shown that the sorption capacity of argon-treated KARBON™ adsorbent at pH=7.5 is 2.6; 2.7 and 0.09 mmol/g in relation to tryptophan, creatinine and vitamin B12, respectively. The adsorption capacity of these compounds is almost unchanged when the acidity changes from 7.5 to 2.0. The results obtained allows the use of KARBON™ adsorbent as a therapeutic and/or prophylactic agent for oral administration in chronic kidney and liver diseases, as well as a hemosorbent for the purification of blood outside the human body.

The wastewater of the “Rubizhanskyi” storage facility at the chemical enterprise “Rubizhanskyi Krasitel” (Ukraine) is a complex multicomponent system. The concentration of colored organic substances in the highly mineralized wastewater significantly exceeds the established norms. This work shows the possibility of an almost complete purification of the multicomponent wastewater using a carbon sorbent. The treatment of wastewater was carried out using the sorption method with carbon adsorbents KARBON™ (Institute for Sorption and Problems of Endoecology, Kyiv, Ukraine) and ZL-302, which are micro-mesoporous materials, with specific surface areas of 1730 and 1523 m²/g, respectively. The purification efficiency of the wastewater containing aromatic compounds by the carbon adsorbents KARBON™ and ZL-302 achieved 99.99% and 94.4%, respectively. The adsorption capacity of the carbon adsorbent KARBON™ with respect to aniline was 0.47 g/g, and that of commercial coal ZL-302 was 0.45 g/g. Therefore, the carbon adsorbent KARBON™ is a promising material for the successful purification of wastewater from chemical enterprises contaminated with aromatic compounds.