A Review on Gas Separation Applications of Supported Ionic Liquid Membranes

The selection of the separation process is a critical issue in the chemical industries. Among different conventional methods for the separation processes, supported liquid membrane (SLM)-based separation processes have been predicted as a promising option. However, the industrial use of supported liquid membranes based on conventional liquids is limited by their relative instability and short lifetime. The use of ionic liquids as a liquid membrane phase results in the stabilization of the SLMs due to their negligible vapor pressure, possibility of minimizing their solubility in the surrounding phases and greater capillary force associated with their high viscosity, which can reduce the displacement of liquids from micron pores under pressure. In this review, recent advances in supported membranes based on ionic liquids including issues such as methods of synthesis IL, methods of preparation of supported ionic liquid membranes and application of supported ionic liquid membranes in gas separation are presented.