Abstract: Disclosed is a method of removing ionizable organo-lead compounds from aqueous liquid compositions. The ionizable organo-lead compounds contemplated herein are those with cations having the formula;(PbR.sub.4-x).sup.+xwhere the R's are alkyl and aryl groups and x is an integer from 0 to 3. The liquid composition typically contains from about 1 to about 20 parts per million by weight of the organo-lead compound. According to the method of this invention, the liquid composition is fed to a bed of activated carbon and passed through the bed. A liquid composition is recovered, reduced in ionizable organo-lead content, for example, an organo-lead content less than about one part per million.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of recovering organolead compounds from solid porous activated carbonaceous materials. According to the disclosed method, an activated carbonaceous material having organolead compounds deposited therein is contacted with an extracting solution of a strong acid or base and an organolead compound bearing aqueous composition solution is recovered. The disclosed method may be used for recovering organolead compounds from aqueous solutions by first contacting the aqueous solution with a solid, activated, carbonaceous material, to thereby deposit the organolead compound on the solid activated carbonaceous material. Thereafter, the organolead compound containing solid activated carbonaceous material is contacted with the aqueous solution of the strongly ionized material to recover an organolead compound bearing aqueous composition. The method may also be used to render the carbonaceous material useful for further removal of lead.