Zhang Xiangping

The Research Progress of CO2 Capture with Ionic Liquids

Due to their negligible volatility, reasonable thermal stability, strong dissolubility, wide liquid range and tunability of structure and property, ionic liquids have been regarded as emerging candidate reagents for CO2 capture from industries gases. In this review, the research progresses in CO2 capture using conventional ionic liquids, functionalized ionic liquids, supported ionic-liquids membranes, polymerized ionic liquids and mixtures of ionic liquids with some molecular solvents were investigated and reviewed. Discussion of relevant research fields was presented and the future developments were suggested.

Simultaneous desulfurization and denitrogen of liquid fuels using two functionalized group ionic liquids

Deep desulfurization of liquid fuels is an important and challenging issue in worldwide petroleum refining industry. Extraction and catalytic oxidative desulfurization (ECODS) of liquid fuels using a series of ionic liquids (ILs) with two functionalized groups, such as [(CH2)2COOHmim]Cl/nFeCl3, [(CH2)2COOHmim]Cl/nZnCl2, and [Amim]Cl/nFeCl3, was studied. In the ECODS, the ILs were used as both extractant and catalyst and 30 wt% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) solution as oxidant. The effects of molar ratios of [(CH2)2COOHmim]Cl (or [Amim]Cl) to FeCl3 (or ZnCl2) in ILs, H2O2/sulfur (O/S) molar ratio, reaction temperature, and the nature of sulfur compounds on sulfur removal were investigated. The natures of the functional groups (-COOH, -CH2-CH=CH2) in cations and the acid strength of anions play important roles in the ECODS and affect the reaction time, temperature, and desulfurization efficiency of different substrates. Also, nitrogen-containing compounds (pyridine, pyrrole, and quinoline) could be removed simultaneously in the ECODS and had different effects on dibenzothiophene removal.

Study on the recovery of ionic liquids from dilute effluent by electrodialysis method and the fouling of cation-exchange membrane

With the wide application of ionic liquids (ILs) in various fields, developing efficient techniques to recover ILs from effluent is an urgent demand for the cost reduction and the environmental protection. In this study, an electrodialysis (ED) method was used to recover 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl) IL from aqueous solution as model effluent. The influences of initial IL concentration and applied voltage on the current efficiency, removal ratio, desalination ratio, membrane flux and specific energy consumption during the ED process were investigated. It was found that the removal ratio and desalination ratio increases with the increasing of initial IL concentration and applied voltage. The current efficiency decreases with the increasing of initial IL concentration and the current efficiency reached the maximum value of 94.3% at 25 V. Besides, as the applied voltage increases, the membrane flux increases and the specific energy consumption decreases. Moreover, the fouling of cation-exchange membrane was also discovered after the desalination of IL. The deposits on the surface or into the membrane which is probably caused by [Bmim]+ was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, elemental analysis and Fourier transform infrared.