Room temperature ionic liquids industrial applications

The ionic liquid investment could be further reduced if future research enables the application of ammonium based alkylsulfate or arylsulfonate ionic liquids. For these systems bulk prices around 15 /kg are expected. Ammonium based alkylsulfate or arylsulfonate ionic liquids usually show melting points slightly above room temperature but clearly below the operating temperature of the hydroformylation reaction. Therefore these systems may be less suitable for the liquid-liquid biphasic process in which the ionic liquid may be involved in process steps at ambient temperature (e.g. phase separation or liquid storage). In contrast, for the SILP catalyst a room temperature ionic liquid is not necessarily required as long as the film becomes a liquid under the reaction conditions. Assuming an ammonium based SILP catalyst, the capital investment for the ionic liquid for the industrial SILP catalyst would add up to 105,000 . 

However, little has entered the public domain concerning the use of ionic liquids on an industrial scale, and nothing has been claimed, even in general terms, to suggest that room-temperature ionic liquids are being used in a viable chemical process being operated commercially. Recent emphases on ionic liquid research and applications could change this. 

Industrial exploitation of ionic liquids is in its early days (Freemantle, 2000). The nse of ionic liquids in industry is seen as being highly speculative, but progress is being made. Room temperature ionic liquids have been stndied actively since their discovery in the 1970s, predominantly for their possible application as battery electrolytes. Work on the exploitation of ionic liquids as reaction media started in the early 1980s, but only recently has it attracted industrial interest. 

Roberts, N. J., Lye, G. J. Application of room temperature ionic liquids in biocatalysis Opportunities and challenges. In Ionic Liquids Industrial Applications for Green Chemistry, Rogers, R. D., Sheldon, K. R. Eds., American Chemical Society Washington, D.C., 2002, Vol. ACS Symposium Series 818. 

S. T. Handy, C. R. Egrie, Green Synthesis Aromatic Nitration in Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids, in Ionic liquids Industrial applications to Green Chemistry, R. D. Rogers. K. R. 

Antimony is a brittle silvery-white metal. Although the unalloyed form of antimony is not often used in industry, alloys of antimony have found wide commercial applications. The integration of antimony gives certain desirable properties, such as increased corrosion resistance and hardness. Moreover, antimony is also the component of some semiconductors such as InSb and InAsi %Sb%. Sb electrodeposits with good adherence were obtained in a water-stable l-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride-tetrafluoroborate ([EMIM]C1-BF4) room-temperature ionicliquid [53]. Furthermore, it was stated that a crystalline InSb compound can be obtained through direct electrodeposition in the ionic liquid [EMIM]C1-BF4 containing In(III) and Sb(III) at 120 °C [54]. It is just a question of time until antimony electrodeposition is reported in the third generation of ionic liquids. 

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