Use of ionic liquids as 'green' solvents for extractions

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. (c) 2005 Society of Chemical Industry.