Factors affecting ionic liquids based removal of anionic dyes from water

Liquid-liquid extraction with imidazolium based ionic liquids-[C(4)mim][PF6][C(6)mim][PF6], [C(6)mim][BF4], and [C(8)mim][PF6]-is proposed for removal of anionic dyes including methyl orange, eosin yellow, and orange G from aqueous solutions. The effects of extraction time, pH of aqueous phase, structure of the ionic liquids, temperature, and KCl concentration on the extraction efficiencies have been studied. Extraction efficiencies of dyes were strongly affected by the pH of the aqueous phase. Under the optimized pH condition, 85-99% of methyl orange, almost 100% eosin yellows, and 69% of orange G in tested water samples were transferred into the ionic liquids in a single extraction. Extraction efficiency for a given dye was found to increase with increasing temperature and increasing alkyl chain length of cation of the ionic liquids. Presence of a small amount of KCl in the aqueous phase did not considerably improve the extraction efficiency of the dyes. Thermodynamic studies revealed that the extraction process was driven by hydrophobic interaction of the anionic dyes and the ionic liquids.