SELECTIVE SORPTION OF CATIONS BY PEAT.

This paper generalizes the results of an investigation of the ion-exchange equilibria on peat with the participation of inorganic and organic ions. It has been shown that the observed difference in the selectivity of peat with respect to different inorganic cations can be explained by using the ideas of the theory of ion hydration and taking the structures of the electron shells of the ions into account. The higher degree of selectivity for organic cations with more than eight carbon atoms in the chain can be explained by the participation not only of Coulomb, but also of other interactions with the functional groups of the peat (interaction through hydrogen bonds, Van der Waals forces, etc. ).