Room temperature ionic liquids as replacements for traditional organic solvents and their applications towards "green chemistry" in separation processes

The full effect of Green Chemistry will be realized when the words "environmentally friendly" and "chemistry" can be used in the same sentence without seeming to be a contradiction. In an effort to comply with governmental regulations and to spruce up the image of the chemical industry, one of the major goals of "green" chemistry is to prevent pollution and waste production at the source. In light of the vast usage of organic solvents in industry, we have investigated the use of Room Temperature Ionic Liquids (RTIL) as solvent alternatives in liquid/liquid separations. Starting from the initial study in which we examined the partitioning of simple benzene derivatives in liquid/liquid extraction systems, we have also studied how ionisable solutes partition in these systems. The knowledge of how organic solutes partition has facilitated the use of metal ion extractants in RTIL-based liquid/liquid separations. This report discusses our current results in the utilization of RTIL for liquid/liquid extraction and also highlights recent results from the literature (e.g., chromatography, supercritical fluid extraction) in which RTIL have been used for separations. The examples chosen serve as illustrations as to how RTIL can be easily used in separations, however, further research is needed to clarify where the use of RTIL is appropriate and before RTIL can be confirmed to be "green" solvent replacements.