Imidazolium Chloride Ionic Liquid Mixtures as Separating Agents: Fuel Processing and Azeotrope Breaking

Relevant chemical separations for the petrochemical and chemical industries include the removal of aromatic hydrocarbons from aliphatics, the desulfurization and denitrification of fuels, and the separation of azeotropic mixtures containing alkanols. In an attempt to contribute to the development of novel technologies, the potentialities of imidazolium chloride ionic liquid (IL) mixtures as separation agents were investigated. Selectivities, capacities, and solvent performance indices were calculated through the activity coefficients at infinite dilution of organic solutes and water in the imidazolium chloride IL: [C₈mim]Cl, [C₁₂mim]Cl, and the equimolar mixture of [C₄mim]Cl and [C₁₂mim]Cl. Results show that the imidazolium chloride IL might be appropriately tailored for specific purposes, in which an increase in the proportion of cations containing larger alkyl chains tends to increase the overall affinity with organic solutes. The IL designer solvent concept was explored by comparing the IL equimolar mixture results with the intermediary [C₈mim]Cl. The COSMO-RS thermodynamic model was also applied, showing it to be a promising tool for a fast qualitative screening of potential separation agents for specific separation processes.