Phase Behaviour of Ionic Liquid Aliphatic Aromatic

2 Phase Behaviour of (Ionic Liquid + Aliphatic + Aromatic) 

The effectiveness of the extraction of aromatics from alkanes by ionie liquids is determined by the ratio of the solubilities in the two phases. This quantity, known as the selectivity, was found to increase with increasing carbon number of the alkane. Moreover, the selective extraction of aromatics from alkanes by ionic liquids increases with decreasing aromatic content in the feed and at lower temperatures. However, the distribution ratio, which is a measure of the extractive capacity, decreases with decreasing aromatic content and temperature. Therefore, the choice of extraction conditions is a trade-off between selectivity and capacity. 

Other investigated separations with ionic liquids as extractant include the (aromatic + cyclic hydrocarbon) extraction, the (alkene + alkane) extraction, and the (sulfur-containing aromatic + aliphatic) extraction. These extractions follow the same trends observed for general (aromatic + ahphatic) extractions. However, it is more difficult to extract aromatics from cyclic hydrocarbons compared to linear ahphatic hydrocarbons by using ionic liquids. 

---