Patent ID: 6991732

Claim:
Process for the recovery of a fluorosurfactant present in an aqueous solution comprising the steps of: a) obtaining an aqueous solution comprising: 1 to 1,000 ppm of surfactant, up to 1,000 ppm of solvents, expressed in COD (chemical oxygen demand), and 0 to 1,000 ppm of suspended solids; b) filtering and/or clarifying the aqueous solution to remove any suspended solids which may be present; c) optionally concentrating the resulting filtered and/or clarified solution from step (b); d) passing the aqueous solution from step (b) or (c) over a stationary bed of granular active charcoal such that all the surfactant is adsorbed on the charcoal without the solvents being adsorbed; e) halting the passage of the solution over the bed of granular activated charcoal and eluting the same with a solution comprising a solvent and an inorganic acid; and f) treating the solution recovered in stage e) to regenerate the fluorosurfactant.