Open-cell polyurethane foam as a sorbent in the extraction of iodine-131

Open-cell polyurethane foams have proved to be effective as sorbents for inorganic and organic species and as supporting materials for various hydrophobic organic phases. They possess outstanding sorption, mass-transfer and hydrodynamic properties, which enable them to be used at relatively high flow-rates of aqueous solutions during column operation. Iodine-131 can be extracted from samples of water and milk using resilient open-cell polyurethane foams in static and pulsed column beds, when in the form of a cylindrical packing impregnated with a tri-alkylamine containing dissolved inactive iodine. Pulsed column beds, which have some advantages over static column beds, can be conveniently automated. This may lead to the development of a new type of environmental monitoring device for radioactive iodine. (author)