THE ADSORPTION OF IONIC LIQUIDS ONTO MODIFIED ACTIVATED CARBONS

摘要

Ionic liquids (ILs) being ionic in composition comprise discreet, dissociated ions having electrical conductivity. Lack of vapour pressure, non flammability and variation in properties adds flexibility to this class of solvents [1, 2]. ILs have wide applications in industry [3]. ILs being soluble in water pose a serious threat to the environment and their toxicity has also been reported [4]. Some methods to purify the water containing ILs have been reported. A previous work on removal of imidazolium type ILs using activated carbon (AC) did not show appreciable results [5]. However, a very recent detailed investigation for adsorption of imidazolium based ILs onto AC has reported the effects of cations, anions and surface chemistry on the adsorption efficiency [6]. The present work aims at investigating the adsorption profile of various activated carbons coming from different origins and to test various ILs on each of the selected ACs in order to better understand the adsorption mechanism of ILs as a function of concentration pH, and the adsorbent characteristics.