Green industrial solvents 388 Subject

Much of this interest is centered on the possible use of ILs as green alternatives to volatile organic solvents. This claim rests on the fact that ILs are practically nonvolatile under ambient conditions. Hence, the exposure risk to ILs is much lower than it is for a volatile solvent, thus removing one of the most important, and costly to control, vectors for their absorption by the body, particularly important for workers in the chemical industry. The nonvolatility also leads to ILs being nonflammable at ambient, and considerably higher, temperatures [1]. However, there are many potential solvents in existence that meet these criteria but have not been the subject of over 600 research papers in 2003 alone. So, why are ILs of such intense interest ... 

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