Tri Butyl Phosphate (TBP) is an Organo phosphorus compound which is pale yellow in color and used as an extractant and plasticizer. It is an ester of phosphoric acid with n- butanol.

In the nuclear industry it is used as nuclear solvent for extraction and purification of various radioisotopes / rare – earth metals from ores as well as spent fuels by solvent extraction due to its formation of stable hydrophobic complexes with some metals.

It also exhibits huge demand in the non-nuclear fields such as solvent & plasticizer for cellulose esters, as a component of aircraft hydraulic fluid / brake fluid, as a solvent in inks, emulsions, synthetic resins, gums, adhesives, defoamer and as herbicide & fungicide concentrates &  heat-exchange medium.