Ionic Liquids in Separation Techniques

The research on the sustainability of extracting and converting value-added products (chemicals, fuels, materials, energy, and fuels) from biomass has gained considerable attention in the context of biorefineries as well as bioactive compound extraction from the most innumerable origins. Although cost-effective extraction and isolation processes have limited the possibility of the total use of the biomass, ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted more and more attention as promising media in various areas of separation techniques (electrolytes, adjuvants, IL-supported membranes, cosurfactants, extraction solvents/cosolvents, chromatography stationary phases, and mobile phase additives). This is due to their tunable properties, nonflammability and nonvolatility, and good thermal stability. In line with the increasing academic interest in ILs, the aforementioned IL-based processes are discussed and assessed in light of extraction and separation operations, although their application is still in the early stages. The key achievements and future prospects/challenges to the field are discussed, with particular emphasis on the major gaps and suggestions for steps to overcome the main limitations.