Amine-Ionic Liquid Blends in CO2 Capture Process for Sustainable Energy and Environment

In the present work, an experiment for CO2 capture process were performed by absorption using various aqueous solvent blends of amine and ionic liquids. The solvent blends were prepared for various compositions by mixing TetraButylAmmonium Acetate [TBA][OAC] and TetraButylAmmonium Bromide [TBA][Br] ionic liquids with Monoethanolamine (MEA). The obtained results were compared with baseline MEA. It was observed that capture efficiency of CO2, absorption rate of CO2 and CO2 diffusion coefficient of MEA-[TBA][OAC] and MEA-[TBA][Br] solvent blends were comparatively higher than baseline 30%MEA. Moreover, the parameters such as density, viscosity, pH, carbon loading and surface tension of all the solvent blends were measured for before and after absorption process. The carbon loading of solvent blends MEA-[TBA][Br] (0.405 mole of CO2/mole of solvent) and MEA-[TBA][OAC](0.459 mole of CO2/mole of solvent) was slightly lower than baseline MEA (0.494 mole of CO2/mole of solvent). However, the viscosity of MEA-[TBA][Br] blends were remarkably lower than MEA-[TBA][OAC] blend and baseline MEA. This might be an important key factor in solvent recovery process with lesser energy demand for sustainable energy and environment.

The possibility of using DES based on polypropylene glycol 425 and tetrabuthylammonium bromide in the extraction processes of transition metals

Traditionally, the method of liquid extraction is used to extract metals from aqueous. This work is devoted to the combination of perspective alternative for hazardous solvents (aqueous two-phase systems based on water-soluble polymers) and the novel deep eutectic solvents in the non-ferrous metals extraction processes. In this work, the synthesis of deep eutectic solvent based on a water-soluble polymer (PPG-425) and tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) by stirring for 10 minutes at 80° C has been shown. The obtained results showed not only the possibility of using DES in the metal extraction process, but the selectivity to the Fe(III) and Zn(III), the distribution coefficients were 71.64 and 25.17 respectively. The metal concentrations were determined spectrophotometrically using 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol. This work shows the perspectives of using DESs in the metal extraction processes.

Modeling VLE and LLE of Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) and Ionic Liquids (IL) Using PC-SAFT Equation of State. Part II

This study aims to use Perturbed-Chain Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (PC-SAFT) to describe the phase behavior of systems containing DESs and ILs. The DESs are based on Tetrabutylammonium chloride ([N4444]Cl) and Tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) as hydrogen bond acceptors, and levulinic acid (LevA) and Diethylene Glycol (DEG) as hydrogen bond donors in the mole ratio of 1:2 and 1:4, respectively. The predicted phase equilibrium data from PC-SAFT has been compared to those from COSMO-RS and NRTL predictions. ILs studied in this work are low viscosity ether-functionalized pyridinium-based ILs [EnPy][NTf2] and [CmPy][NTf2], while 1-(2-methoxyethyl)-1-methylpyrrolidiniumbis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)-amide) ([COC2mPYR][NTf2]) and 1-propyl-3-methylimidazolium bis{trifluoromethylsulfonyl}imide ([Pmim][NTf2]) were used for the study of the LLE systems with n-heptane + thiophene and n-hexane + ethylbenzene, respectively. In the last part, mixtures of linear alkanes and perfluoroalkanes have been studied to predict the phase behavior of perfluoroalkylalkanes with their linear alkane counterparts and comparisons have been made against SAFT-Mie pair potential.

Design Optimization of Deep Eutectic Solvent Composition and Separation Performance of Cyclohexane and Benzene Mixtures with Extractive Distillation

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have properties that make them suitable candidates to be used as entrainers for extractive distillation. In the previous work, it was proven that DES(1:2) (tetrabutylammonium bromide: levulinic acid, 1:2, molar ratio) can break the cyclohexane-benzene azeotrope. In the present work, the HBA and HBD ratio and molar concentration of DES were optimized to obtain a better constitute and condition of DES to be utilized in cyclohexane and benzene extractive distillation. The physical properties and structure of the prepared DESs were characterized. Vapor–liquid equilibrium data of the ternary system (benzene + cyclohexane + DESs) were also measured at atmospheric pressure. All experimental equilibrium data were correlated with Wilson, nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL), and universal quasichemical (UNIQUAC) activity coefficient models, from which the coefficient of determination (R2) of the three pseudo-ternary systems fitting was calculated. From the obtained results, the best HBA and HBD ratio in the DESs is elucidated as 1:2, the best molar concentration of DES is 0.1, and the NRTL model predicts the experimental data more accurately than the Wilson and UNIQUAC models. From the derived mechanism, the formation of stronger hydrogen bond and π–π bond interactions between DES and benzene is obtained when HBA and HBD ratio in DES is 1:2. In other conditions, the azeotrope cannot be broken, or the efficiency is low. The present work provides an environmentally friendly method to separate aromatic/aliphatic mixtures and act as a guide for further study of DESs in extractive distillation.

Effect of MAF-6 Crystal Size on Its Physicochemical and Catalytic Properties in the Cycloaddition of CO2 to Propylene Oxide

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks MAF-5 and MAF-6 based on Zn2+ and 2-ethylimidazole were demonstrated to be efficient heterogeneous catalysts in solvent-free coupling of CO2 and propylene oxide (PO) to produce propylene carbonate (PC) at 0.8 MPa of CO2 and 80 °C. Activity of MAF-5 was lower in comparison with MAF-6 due to the difference in their structural and textural characteristics. MAF-6 samples with particle size of 190 ± 20, 360 ± 30, and 810 ± 30 nm were prepared at room temperature from [Zn(NH3)4](OH)2 and 2-ethylimidazole. Control of particle size was achieved by variation of type of alcohol in alcohol/cyclohexane media for the preparation of MAF-6. According to this comprehensive study, the yield of PC was found to decrease with increasing crystal size of the MAF-6 material, which was related to the change in textural properties and the number and localization of active sites. The combination of MAF-6 with particle size of with particle size of 190 ± 20 nm and tetrabutylammonium bromide ([n-Bu4N]Br) as co-catalyst led to an approximately 4-fold enhancement in the yield of PC (80.5%). Compared with reported ZIFs catalysts, the efficiencies of MAF-5/[n-Bu4N]Br and MAF-6/[n-Bu4N]Br binary systems were comparable and higher under similar reaction conditions.