Use of ionic liquids as ‘green’ solvents for extractions

Abstract This review summarizes recent applications of ionic liquids (ILs) as ‘green’ solvents in extractions of a variety of substances, including metal ions, organic and bio‐molecules, organosulfur from fuels, and gases. ILs could also be used along with another ‘green’ technology, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), for a more effective separation of products from ILs. In addition to their environmentally‐benign feature, ILs have other favorable properties over organic solvents used for extraction, such as adjustable hydrophobicity, polarity and selectivity. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry