Solutions of ionic liquids with diverse aliphatic and aromatic solutes – Phase behavior and potentials for applications: A review article

This article principally reviews our research related to liquid–liquid and solid–liquid phase behavior of imidazolium- and phosphonium-based ionic liquids, mainly having bistriflamide ([NTf₂]⁻) or triflate ([OTf]⁻) anions, with several aliphatic and aromatic solutes (target molecules). The latter include: (i) diols and triols: 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol and glycerol; (ii) polymer poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG): average molecular mass 200, 400 and 2050 – PEG200 (liquid), PEG400 (liquid) and PEG2050 (solid), respectively; (iii) polar aromatic compounds: nicotine, aniline, phenolic acids (vanillic, ferulic and caffeic acid,), thymol and caffeine and (iv) non-polar aromatic compounds (benzene, toluene, p-xylene). In these studies, the effects of the cation and anion, cation alkyl chain and PEG chain lengths on the observed phase behaviors were scrutinized. Thus, one of the major observations is that the anion – bistriflamide/triflate – selection usually had strong, sometimes really remarkable effects on the solvent abilities of the studied ionic liquids. Namely, in the case of the hydrogen-bonding solutes, the ionic liquids with the triflate anion generally exhibited substantially higher solubility than those having the bistriflamide anion. Nevertheless, with the aromatic compounds the situation was the opposite – in most of the cases it was the bistriflamide anion that favoured solubility. Moreover, our other studies confirmed the ability of PEG to dissolve both polar and non-polar aromatic compounds. Therefore, two general possibilities of application of alternative, environmentally acceptable, solvents of tuneable solvent properties appeared. One is to use homogeneous mixtures of two ionic liquids having [NTf₂]⁻ and [OTf]⁻ anions as mixed solvents. The other, however, envisages the application of homogeneous and heterogeneous (PEG + ionic liquid) solutions as tuneable solvents for aromatic solutes.Such mixed solvents have potential applications in separation of the aforesaid target molecules from their aqueous solutions or in extraction from original matrices. From the fundamental point of view the phase equilibrium studies reviewed herein and the diversity of the pure compounds – ionic liquids and target molecules – represent a good base for the discussion of interactions between the molecules that exist in the studied solutions.     

Impact of fluorine on the phase behavior of bis-p-tolyl propane in supercritical CO2, 1,1-difluoroethane,and 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane

Fluorine substitution on a solute can have a significant effect on solute solubility in a given solvent and fluorine substitution on a solvent can also have a significant effect on solvent quality. The effect of fluorine is demonstrated with the phase behavior data for bis(p-tolyl)propane (BTP) compared to bis(p-tolyl)hexafluoropropane (BTHFP) in supercritical carbon dioxide, 1,1-difluoroethane (F152a), and 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (F134a). Semifluorinated BTHFP is more soluble than non-fluorinated BTP in all three solvents, especially CO₂. The CO₂–BTP system exhibits solid solubility behavior while the CO₂–BTHFP system exhibits liquid–liquid–vapor (LLV) behavior near the critical point of CO₂. Although the two dipolar hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) are better solvents than CO₂ for these two aromatic solid compounds, F152a is the superior HFC solvent, especially for BTP, because F152a has a smaller molar volume and a larger effective dipole moment than F134a. LLV behavior is also observed for the F134a–BTP system near the critical point of F134a although the F134a–BTHFP, F152a–BTP, and F152a–BTHFP systems all appear to exhibit type-I phase behavior and no liquid–liquid immiscibility near the respective critical points.     

Phase Separation of Polyethylene Glycol/Salt Aqueous Two-Phase Systems

Abstract

Salt in polyethylene glycol (PEG)/salt aqueous two-phase systems was excluded by PEG and concentrated in the solvent volume available for dissolution of salt (PEG-free solvent). The concentration of salt in the PEG-free solvent of the PEG-rich phase was the same as that at the critical point regardless of the compositions of the PEG/salt two-phase systems. This explained that the phase separation of PEG/salt two-phase systems occurs when the concentration of salt in the PEG-free solvent reaches its solubility limit. The concentration of salt required in the PEG-free solvent for the phase separation was lower with higher molecular weight of PEG. The solubility of salt in the PEG-free solvent decreased with increases in the molal surface tension increment of salt. The solubility limit of salt in the PEG-free solvent was 0.93 M for ammonium sulfate, 0.77 M for potassium phosphate, 0.75 M for sodium tartrate, 0.67 M for sodium phosphate, and 0.53 M for potassium citrate.     

Auswahl von Phasensystemen in der Lösungs-, Adsorptions- und Ionenaustausch-Chromatographie

In contrast to GC selectivity in LC is determined by the composition of both the stationary as well as the mobile phase. Therefore the main problem in LC results in selecting an appropriate phase system for the given separation problem. The selectivity factorα _ijis defined as the ratio of the capacity factors k′ _i k′_jof two solutes, which corresponds to the ratio of their distribution coefficients ^c K _i, ^cK_j. In LLC α _ijis determined by the relative solubility of the solutes in the two immiscible phases, which were prepared from binary or ternary liquid-liquid-systems. Secondary effects on retention are caused by the support. Two variations exist (LLC, Reverse-Phase-LLC) which differ in whether the polar phase is used as stationary or mobile phase, resp. In LSC the same phase variation is possible. Using a polar support and an unpolar solvent α _ijis governed by the relative strength of interactions between the solute molecules and the surface of the support. In Reverse-Phase-LSC, however, using an unpolar support and a polar solvent, these interactions are very weak and α _ijis mainly determined by the solubility of the solutes in the mobile phase. In IEC α _ijdepends on a set of parameters such as the type of ion-exchange matrix, its pore structure and its degree of crosslinking, resp., the type, surface concentration and distribution of functional groups, the type of the eluent ion, its concentration, the ionic strength and pH-value of the eluent, the temperature. Different methods have been developed in order to calculate the distribution coefficients of solutes for a given phase system.     

Solubilities of poly(ethylene glycol)s in the mixtures of supercritical carbon dioxide and cosolvent

The solubilities of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG6000) (M.W.=7500) in the mixtures consisting of supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) and cosolvent have been measured by observing the cloud points at 313.15 K and 16 MPa. Ethanol and toluene were used as cosolvents. The solubility of PEG6000 is extremely low in either CO₂ or ethanol, but becomes about 20 wt.% in a mixture of the two. The maximum solubility is achieved at about 50 wt.% (polymer-free) ethanol. The solubilities of PEG6000 in the mixtures of supercritical CO₂ and the cosolvent have been correlated by a regular solution model using the local compositions of solvents around a solute molecule, and an expanded liquid equation of state model.     

Liquid–liquid equlibria of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 400 and CO2 with common organic solvents

Liquid polyethylene glycol (PEG), in combination with carbon dioxide (CO₂) and common organic solvents, enables the coupling of a homogeneous reaction with a heterogeneous separation. This is important for the application of homogenous catalysts, which offer superior reactivity but are difficult to separate and recycle. CO₂ can act as a miscibility switch to shift the system from homogeneous at atmospheric conditions to heterogeneous under CO₂ pressure. This allows for extraction of the products into the organic solvent phase and immobilization of the homogeneous catalyst in the PEG phase. This work examines the phase behavior of PEG and carbon dioxide with 1,4-dioxane and acetonitrile at 25 and 40 °C and pressures ranging from 5 to 8 MPa. The experimental data are compared to theoretical calculations using the Sanchez–Lacombe equation of state.     

Effect of humic acid on the solid phase stability of UO2CO3

The stability of UO₂CO₃ has been studied as a function of the humic acid concentration in 0.1M NaClO₄, in the weak acidic pH range (4.5–5) under CO₂ atmosphere. The solid phase under investigation has been prepared by alkaline precipitation and characterized by TGA, ATR-FTIR, XRD, SEM and solubility measurements. According to the experimental data, UO₂CO₃ is stable and remains the solubility limiting solid phase even in the presence of increased humic acid concentration in solution. However, humic acid affects texture and particle size of the solid phase. Increasing humic acid concentration results in decreasing crystallite size of the UO₂CO₃ solid phase. Based on the solubility data, the logK _sp (UO₂CO₃) has been evaluated to amount −13.7±0.2 for the humic acid-free system and −13.2±0.3 for the humic acid containing system.     

High-pressure phase behavior of CO2 + 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride system

The phase behavior of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([bmim][Cl]) was measured and correlated at high pressures up to ∼40 MPa and at temperatures between 353.15 K and 373.15 K. The solubility data of CO₂ in [bmim][Cl] were obtained by observing the bubble point pressure at specific temperatures. A variable-volume view cell, which is a high-pressure equilibrium apparatus, was used to measure the CO₂ + [bmim][Cl] system solubility under varying pressure and temperature conditions. In addition, liquid–liquid–vapor (LLV) three-phase behavior was investigated using the equilibrium cell to be able to determine the classification of phase-behavior type by Scott and Van Konynenburg. Based on the LLV phase behavior, this system most likely has type III phase-behavior which is common for IL + CO₂ systems. The resulting data showed that CO₂ dissolved well in the IL at low CO₂ concentrations, but that the pressure derivative of CO₂ solubility dramatically decreased as the mole fraction of CO₂ was increased. The experimental data were well fitted by the Peng–Robinson equation of state with a quadratic mixing rule and cubic parameters estimated by the Joback method.     

Solid–liquid–gas equilibrium of the naphthalene–biphenyl–CO2 system: Measurement and modeling

The first and last melting points (FLMP) method was employed to measure the melting temperature–composition (T–w$T–w$) data at solid–liquid–gas (SLG) equilibrium for the naphthalene–biphenyl–CO₂ system. Results show that the system's phase diagram is simple eutectic under all investigated pressures (0.1, 3.0, 6.0 and 8.0 MPa), and the system's eutectic composition is almost constant. The (T–w$T–w$) data measured with a high-pressure differential scanning calorimetry are in good agreement with these from FLMP. The semi-predictive model using solubility data (SMS) and the calculation model combining with G^E models (CMG) for binary systems were extended to this ternary system. For the SMS model, the Peng–Robinson equation of state (PR-EoS) with the van der Waals one-fluid mixing rule was used to correlate the solubility data of the two solutes in CO₂ to obtain the two interaction parameters k₁₂ and k₁₃ and calculate the fugacity coefficients of the solutes in the liquid and vapor phases; the UNIFAC method was also applied to the activity coefficient of the solutes in the liquid phase. For the CMG model, the PR-EoS combining respectively the MHV1, LCVM, and modified LCVM (mLCVM) mixing rules was applied to the fugacity coefficients of the solutes. Results show that the CMG model with MHV1 gives the best prediction of the system's SLG equilibrium, while the SMS model and the CMG model with mLCVM provide comparable and acceptable results.     

Modeling of Equilibria in Complex Cryolite Melts

In the fully ionized sodium sulfate melt, the solubility of an oxide (at a given melt basicity) is well described by considering a single equilibrium to form a specific simple acidic or basic solute. In this case, the dominant solutes are identified by a simple log–log interpretation describing the dependence of the solute concentration on an acid-base parameter loga_{Na2 O}\log a_{\rm Na_2 O} . However, in fused cryolite (Na₃AlF₆) solutions, the solvent itself and the solutes of oxides involve anionic complexes (alumino-fluorides and oxy-fluorides). Therefore, a single simple equilibrium does not suffice to model the complex solution. Rather, as for a high temperature multi-component gas phase containing many complex volatile species, every possible equilibrium must be individually satisfied and coupled to a mass balance. Examples will be given for each limiting type of solution behavior.     

Experimental analysis and modeling of CO2 solubility in AMP (2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol) at low CO2 partial pressure using the models of Deshmukh–Mather and the artificial neural network

The equilibrium solubility data for CO₂ in aqueous solution of AMP have been determined at temperatures from 293 K to 323 K, partial pressures from 17.47 kPa to 69.87 kPa and concentrations of AMP from 1 M to 4 M. The experimental results show that the solubility of CO₂ in AMP increases with partial pressure and decreases with temperature and concentration of solvent. Two different mathematical models have been used to analyze the solubility of CO₂ in AMP including those of Deshmukh–Mather and the artificial neural network. The modeling results indicate that the neural network modeling provides a better prediction of experimental CO₂ loadings than the Deshmukh–Mather model when compared with experimental results in this work. Therefore, this new modeling method can be useful in predicting the results of CO₂ absorption and its accuracy is comparable with those of thermodynamic models which are used widely.     

Effect of polyethyleneglycol (PEG) on gas permeabilities and permselectivities in its cellulose acetate (CA) blend membranes

The effect of polyethyleneglycol (PEG) on gas permeabilities and selectivities was investigated in a series of miscible cellulose acetate (CA) blend membranes. The permeabilities of CO₂, H₂, O₂, CH₄, N₂ were measured at temperatures from 30 to 80°C and pressures from 20 to 76 cmHg using a manometric permeation apparatus. It was determined that the blend membrane having 10 wt% PEG20000 exhibited higher permeability for CO₂ and higher permselectivity for CO₂ over N₂ and CH₄ than those of the membranes which contained 10% PEG of the molecular weight in the range 200–6000. The CA blend containing 60 wt% PEG20000 showed that its permeability coefficients of CO₂ and ideal separation factors for CO₂ over N₂ reached above 2 × 10⁻⁸ [cm³ (STP) cm/cm² s cmHg] and 22, respectively, at 70°C and 20 cmHg. Based on the data of gas permeability coefficients, time lags and characterization of the membranes, it is proposed that the apparent solubility coefficients of all CA and PEG blend membranes for CO₂ were lower than those of the CA membrane. However, almost all the blend membranes containing PEG20000 showed higher apparent diffusivity coefficients for CO₂, resulting in higher permeability coefficients of CO₂ with relation to those of the CA membrane. It is attributed to the high diffusivity selectivities of CA and PEG20000 blend membranes that their ideal separation factors for CO₂ over N₂ were higher than those of the CA membrane in the range 50–80°C, even though the ideal separation factors of almost all PEG blend membranes for CO₂ over CH₄ became lower than those of the CA membrane over nearly the full range from 30° to 80°C.     

Poly(vinylalcohol)/poly(ethyleneglycol)/poly(ethyleneimine) blend membranes - structure and CO2 facilitated transport

Poly(vinylalcohol) (PVA)/poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI)/poly(ethyleneglycol) (PEG) blend membranes were prepared by solution casting followed by solvent evaporation. The effects of the blend polymer composition on the membrane structure and CO₂/N₂ permeation characteristics were investigated. IR spectroscopy evidenced strong hydrogen bonding interactions between amorphous PVA and PEI, and weaker interactions between PVA and PEG. DSC studies showed that PVA crystallization was partially inhibited by the interactions between amorphous PVA and PEI blend, in which PEG separated into nodules. The CO₂ permeability decreased with an increase in CO₂ partial pressure in feed gas, while the N₂ permeability remained constant. This result indicated that only CO₂ was transported by the facilitated transport mechanism. The CO₂ and N₂ permeabilities increased monotonically with the PEI content in the blend membranes, whereas the ideal selectivity of CO₂ to N₂ transport showed a maximum. When CO₂ is humidified, its permeability through the blend membranes is much higher than that of dry CO₂, but the change in permeability due to the presence of humidity is reversible.     

Application of Liquid State Models for the Time Efficient Phase Equilibrium Calculation of Supercritical CO2 and H2O at High Temperatures and Pressures

There are numerous models available to compute phase equilibrium composition of supercritical CO₂ and H₂O at high temperatures and pressures. In this paper a different approach is proposed where liquid state models (LSM) are used following liquid–liquid equilibrium (LLE) flash calculation in order to obtain phase compositions (solubility of CO₂ in the H₂O rich phase and that of H₂O in the CO₂ rich phase). Four LSM (two two-parameter models UNIQUAC and LSG, and two three-parameter models NRTL and GEM-RS) are investigated. The original forms of these models are inappropriate to represent the literature values; the binary interaction parameters are related with both pressure and temperature. These modified versions are suitable to generate phase composition values within 2–7 % deviation. Further investigations show that the LLE calculation is more time efficient than vapor–liquid equilibrium computation, meaning our approach can save computational expense for the numerical simulation of CO₂ flows in a reservoir. Comparison of the time efficiency of these LSM models with respect to other equations of state is given.     

Solubility of CO2 in CO2-philic oligomers; COSMOtherm predictions and experimental results

We report the solubility of carbon dioxide in four physical solvents and compare our data to predicted phase behavior using the conductor-like screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS) formalism. The solubility data are presented in pressure-composition (Px) diagrams as well as Henry's law coefficients on a wt% basis at 298.15 K. The oligomers presented in this study are poly ethylene glycol di-methyl ether (PEGDME), perfluoro polyether (PFPE), poly di-methyl siloxane (PDMS), and poly propylene glycol di-methyl ether (PPGDME), which is a new solvent designed for this application by our group. These oligomers had 2–5 repeat units. We assess these four oligomers for capturing CO₂ from high-pressure streams. The COSMO-RS formalism is able to qualitatively and to some extent quantitatively describe solubilities of CO₂ in each of the oligomers.     

Near-infrared spectroscopic measurements of volume expansion and composition of CO2-expanded ethyl acetate,acetone, tetrahydrofuran,acetonitrile, methanol-OD,and dimethyl sulfoxide

CO₂-expanded liquid (CXL) is a mixture of organic solvent with high-pressure CO₂ whose volume is increased by CO₂ dissolved in it. CXLs have attracted attention as tunable solvents, because the solvent properties can be widely controlled by the pressure. The volume expansion and the solubility of CO₂ were measured by near-infrared spectroscopy for 6 CXLs at various pressures up to 55 bar and 40 °C. The molarity of organic solvent was determined from the absorbance of the 3ν and 2ν + δ bands, and that of CO₂ was obtained from the area of the 3ν₃ band, whose peak shifted to higher frequency with increasing pressure due to a decrease in the molecular interaction around CO₂. The expansion coefficient was shown to be an increasing function of the pressure with larger slope at higher pressure, and the mole fraction of CO₂ in the liquid phase was an almost linearly increasing function of the pressure. The results were in quantitative agreement with the literature data measured by conventional sampling method, indicating the validity of the spectroscopic method.     

Structural analysis of poly(amidoamine) dendrimer immobilized in crosslinked poly(ethylene glycol)

Polymeric membranes comprised of poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer immobilized in a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) network exhibit an excellent CO₂ separation selectivity over H₂. The CO₂ permeability increases with PAMAM dendrimer concentration in the polymeric membrane and becomes 500 times greater than H₂ permeability when the dendrimer content was 50 wt % at ambient conditions (5 kPa of CO₂ partial pressure). However, the detailed morphology of the membrane has not been discussed. The immiscibility of PAMAM dendrimer and PEG matrix results in phase separation, which takes place in a couple of microns scale. Especially, laser scanning confocal microscope captures a 3D morphology of the polymeric blend. The obtained 3D reconstructions demonstrate a bicontinuous structure of PAMAM dendrimer‐rich and PEG‐rich phases, which indicates the presence of PAMAM dendrimer channel penetrating the polymeric membrane, and CO₂ will preferentially pass through the dendrimer channel. In addition, Fourier transform of the 3D reconstructions indicates the presence of a periodic structure. An average size of the dendrimer domain calculated is 2–4 μm in proportion to PAMAM dendrimer concentration. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

Synthesis of crosslinked PEG/IL blend membrane via one-pot thiol–ene/epoxy chemistry

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based membranes have obtained considerable attentions for CO₂ separation for their promising CO₂ separation performance and excellent thermal/chemical resistance. In this work, a one-pot thiol–ene/epoxy reaction was used to prepare crosslinked PEG-based and PEG/ionic liquids (ILs) blend membranes. Four ILs of the same cation [Bmim]⁺ with different anions ([BF₄]⁻, [PF₆]⁻, [NTf₂]⁻, and [TCM]⁻) were chosen as the additives. The chemical structure, thermal properties, hydrophilicity, and permeation performance of the resultant membranes were investigated to study the ILs' effects. An increment in CO₂ permeability (~34%) was obtained by optimizing monomer ratios and thus crosslinking network structures. Adding ILs into optimized PEG matrix shows distinct influences in CO₂ separation performance depending on the anions' types, due to the different CO₂ affinities and compatibilities with PEG matrix. Among these ILs, [Bmim][NTf₂] was found the most effective in enhancing CO₂ transport by simultaneously increasing the solubility and diffusivity of CO₂. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Polymer Science published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. J. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 58, 2575-2585