Processing of metals and metal oxides using ionic liquids

Hydrometallurgy lies at the heart of many industrial processes and is the source of a large volume of aqueous waste. Treating dilute streams of acidic and basic by-products is both energy and chemical intensive, and is one of the largest sources of metal-based emissions into the environment. Over the past decade, numerous studies have been made into the use of ionic liquids for metal dissolution, extraction and recovery. This article critically reviews the potential efficacy of these methods and signposts the areas where further research is needed.

[1]  Michael J. Zaworotko,et al.  Air and water stable 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium based ionic liquids , 1992 .

[2]  L. M. Toth,et al.  Comparative UV-Vis Studies of Uranyl Chloride Complex in Two Basic Ambient-Temperature Melt Systems: The Observation of Spectral and Thermodynamic Variations Induced via Hydrogen Bonding. , 1997, Inorganic chemistry.

[3]  Masahiro Yoshizawa,et al.  Room temperature ionic liquids from 20 natural amino acids. , 2005, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[4]  M. Dietz.  Ionic Liquids as Extraction Solvents: Where do We Stand? , 2006 .

[5]  Jing-fu Liu,et al.  Ionic liquids/water distribution ratios of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons , 2004 .

[6]  M. Dietz,et al.  Ion-exchange as a mode of cation transfer into room-temperature ionic liquids containing crown ethers: implications for the 'greenness' of ionic liquids as diluents in liquid-liquid extraction. , 2001, Chemical communications.

[7]  Katja Hofmann,et al.  New aspects on polarity of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium salts as measured by solvatochromic probes , 2006 .

[8]  M. Goto,et al.  Feasibility of Ionic Liquids as Alternative Separation Media for Industrial Solvent Extraction Processes , 2005 .

[9]  K. Binnemans,et al.  Hydrophobic ionic liquids with strongly coordinating anions. , 2010, Chemical communications.

[10]  Hua Zhao,et al.  Use of ionic liquids as ‘green’ solvents for extractions , 2005 .

[11]  Mark N. Kobrak.  The Chemical Environment of Ionic Liquids: Links Between Liquid Structure, Dynamics, and Solvation , 2008 .

[12]  R. P. Swatloski,et al.  Task-specific ionic liquids for the extraction of metal ions from aqueous solutions , 2001 .

[13]  K. R. Seddon,et al.  Ionic liquids: a taste of the future. , 2003, Nature materials.

[14]  David L Davies,et al.  Novel solvent properties of choline chloride/urea mixtures. , 2003, Chemical communications.

[15]  R Renner,et al.  Ionic liquids: an industrial cleanup solution. , 2001, Environmental science & technology.

[16]  R. Reddy.  Emerging technologies in extraction and processing of metals , 2003 .

[17]  Metal complexation in ionic liquids , 2008 .

[18]  R. P. Swatloski,et al.  Task-specific ionic liquids incorporating novel cations for the coordination and extraction of Hg2+ and Cd2+: synthesis, characterization, and extraction studies. , 2002, Environmental science & technology.

[19]  M. Dietz,et al.  A ternary mechanism for the facilitated transfer of metal ions into room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs): implications for the “greenness” of RTILs as extraction solvents , 2005 .

[20]  M. Nguyen,et al.  Carboxyl-functionalized task-specific ionic liquids for solubilizing metal oxides. , 2008, Inorganic chemistry.

[21]  G. Lawrance,et al.  Application of 1-alkyl-3-methyl-imidazolium ionic liquids in the oxidative leaching of sulphidic copper, gold and silver ores , 2007 .

[22]  C. Glorieux,et al.  Task-specific ionic liquid for solubilizing metal oxides. , 2006, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[23]  A. Ouadi,et al.  Task-specific ionic liquids bearing 2-hydroxybenzylamine units: synthesis and americium-extraction studies. , 2006, Chemistry.

[24]  A. Bond,et al.  Aluminium speciation in 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide/AlCl3 mixtures. , 2009, Chemistry.

[25]  J. Prausnitz,et al.  Selective extraction of copper, mercury, silver and palladium ions from water using hydrophobic ionic liquids. , 2008 .

[26]  M. Dietz,et al.  EXAFS investigations of the mechanism of facilitated ion transfer into a room-temperature ionic liquid. , 2002, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[27]  I. Pletnev,et al.  Solvent extraction of amino acids into a room temperature ionic liquid with dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 , 2004, Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry.

[28]  T. Srinivasan,et al.  Effect of Alkyl Group in 1-Alkyl-3-methylimidazolium Hexafluorophosphate Ionic Liquids on the Extraction of Uranium by Tri-n-butylphosphate Diluted with Ionic Liquids , 2004 .

[29]  C. Hussey,et al.  Dialkylimidazolium chloroaluminate melts: a new class of room-temperature ionic liquids for electrochemistry, spectroscopy and synthesis , 1982 .

[30]  M. Jensen,et al.  Mechanisms of metal ion transfer into room-temperature ionic liquids: the role of anion exchange. , 2003, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[31]  P. Bonnesen,et al.  Separation of fission products based on ionic liquids: Task-specific ionic liquids containing an aza-crown ether fragment , 2006 .

[32]  M. Dietz,et al.  Solute-induced dissolution of hydrophobic ionic liquids in water. , 2007, Talanta.

[33]  R. G. Freeman,et al.  Ionic liquids based on FeCl(3) and FeCl(2). Raman scattering and ab initio calculations. , 2001, Inorganic chemistry.

[34]  C. L. Hussey.  Room temperature haloaluminate ionic liquids. Novel solvents for transition metal solution chemistry , 1988 .

[35]  F. H. Hurley,et al.  The Electrodeposition of Aluminum from Nonaqueous Solutions at Room Temperature , 1951 .

[36]  Juan Zhang,et al.  Investigation of physicochemical properties of lactam-based Brønsted acidic ionic liquids. , 2005, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[37]  Robin D. Rogers,et al.  Traditional Extractants in Nontraditional Solvents: Groups 1 and 2 Extraction by Crown Ethers in Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids† , 2000 .

[38]  D. Macfarlane,et al.  Pyrrolidinium Imides: A New Family of Molten Salts and Conductive Plastic Crystal Phases , 1999 .

[39]  Emma L. Smith,et al.  Electroless deposition of metallic silver from a choline chloride-based ionic liquid: a study using acoustic impedance spectroscopy, SEM and atomic force microscopy. , 2007, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[40]  J. Wadhawan,et al.  Water-induced accelerated ion diffusion: voltammetric studies in 1-methyl-3-[2,6-(S)-dimethylocten-2-yl]imidazolium tetrafluoroborate, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate and hexafluorophosphate ionic liquids , 2000 .

[41]  C. Hennig,et al.  Speciation of rare-earth metal complexes in ionic liquids: a multiple-technique approach. , 2009, Chemistry.

[42]  H. -. Wang,et al.  Recovery of nanosize zinc from phosphor wastes with an ionic liquid , 2009 .

[43]  A. Abbott,et al.  Solubility of Metal Oxides in Deep Eutectic Solvents Based on Choline Chloride , 2006 .

[44]  G. Lawrance,et al.  ‘Green’ leaching: recyclable and selective leaching of gold-bearing ore in an ionic liquid , 2004 .

[45]  Robin D. Rogers,et al.  Room temperature ionic liquids as novel media for ‘clean’ liquid–liquid extraction , 1998 .

[46]  Y. Idemoto,et al.  The electrodeposition of amorphous Co-Zn alloy from ambient temperature molten salt electrolytes , 1996 .

[47]  F. H. Hurley,et al.  Electrodeposition of Metals from Fused Quaternary Ammonium Salts , 1951 .

[48]  L. Zaijun,et al.  Advance of Room Temperature Ionic Liquid as Solvent for Extraction and Separation , 2007 .

[49]  Jiulin Wang,et al.  Electrochemical Magnesium Deposition and Dissolution with High Efficiency in Ionic Liquid , 2005 .

[50]  Zusing Yang,et al.  Room temperature ionic liquid as a novel medium for liquid/liquid extraction of metal ions , 2003 .

[51]  J. Prausnitz,et al.  Solvent polarities and kamlet-taft parameters for ionic liquids containing a pyridinium cation. , 2008, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[52]  Raymond K. Rasheed,et al.  Preparation of novel, moisture-stable, Lewis-acidic ionic liquids containing quaternary ammonium salts with functional side chains. , 2001, Chemical communications.

[53]  David L Davies,et al.  Ionic liquid analogues formed from hydrated metal salts. , 2004, Chemistry.

[54]  Andrew P. Abbott,et al.  Pilot trials of immersion silver deposition using a choline chloride based ionic liquid , 2010 .

[55]  T. Welton,et al.  An old reaction in new media: kinetic study of a platinum(II) substitution reaction in ionic liquids. , 2009, Dalton transactions.

[56]  I. Billard,et al.  Speciation of Uranyl Nitrato Complexes in Acetonitrile and in the Ionic Liquid 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium Bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide , 2007 .

[57]  T. Srinivasan,et al.  Extraction of uranium(VI) from nitric acid medium by 1.1M tri-n-butylphosphate in ionic liquid diluent , 2005 .

[58]  A. Bard,et al.  Novel Electrochemical Studies of Ionic Liquids , 2002 .

[59]  M. Goto,et al.  Ionic Liquids as a Novel Solvent for Lanthanide Extraction , 2003, Analytical sciences : the international journal of the Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry.

[60]  T. Srinivasan,et al.  Extraction of fission palladium by Aliquat 336 and electrochemical studies on direct recovery from ionic liquid phase , 2006 .

[61]  A. Abbott,et al.  Application of hole theory to define ionic liquids by their transport properties. , 2007, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[62]  James H. Davis.  Task-Specific Ionic Liquids , 2004 .

[63]  F. Endres,et al.  Nanoscale electrodeposition of metals and semiconductors from ionic liquids , 2003 .

[64]  R. A. Osteryoung,et al.  The Electrochemical Behavior of Aluminum in the Low Temperature Molten Salt System n Butyl Pyridinium Chloride: Aluminum Chloride and Mixtures of This Molten Salt with Benzene , 1980 .

[65]  Raymond K. Rasheed,et al.  Deep eutectic solvents formed between choline chloride and carboxylic acids: versatile alternatives to ionic liquids. , 2004, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[66]  Andrew P Abbott,et al.  Model for the conductivity of ionic liquids based on an infinite dilution of holes. , 2005, Chemphyschem : a European journal of chemical physics and physical chemistry.

[67]  D. Fray,et al.  The electrowinning of lithium from chloride-carbonate melts , 1993 .

[68]  Fathi Habashi,et al.  A short history of hydrometallurgy , 2005 .

[69]  Y. Ikeda,et al.  Extraction Mechanism of Metal Ion from Aqueous Solution to the Hydrophobic Ionic Liquid, 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium Nonafluorobutanesulfonate , 2007 .

[70]  M. Watanabe,et al.  Physicochemical properties and structures of room temperature ionic liquids. 2. Variation of alkyl chain length in imidazolium cation. , 2005, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[71]  Zusing Yang,et al.  Studies on Liquid/liquid Extraction of Copper Ion with Room Temperature Ionic Liquid , 2003 .

[72]  G. Chen,et al.  Reduction of titanium and other metal oxides using electrodeoxidation , 2004 .

[73]  Andrew P. Abbott,et al.  Sustained electroless deposition of metallic silver from a choline chloride-based ionic liquid , 2008 .

[74]  Tom Welton,et al.  Room-temperature ionic liquids: solvents for synthesis and catalysis. 2. , 1999, Chemical reviews.

[75]  G. Wipff,et al.  Solvation of uranyl(II), europium(III) and europium(II) cations in "basic" room-temperature ionic liquids: a theoretical study. , 2004, Chemistry.

[76]  Lili Zhu,et al.  Silica Materials Doped with Bifunctional Ionic Liquid Extractant for Yttrium Extraction , 2009 .

[77]  David L Davies,et al.  Selective extraction of metals from mixed oxide matrixes using choline-based ionic liquids. , 2005, Inorganic chemistry.

[78]  Robin D. Rogers,et al.  Characterization and comparison of hydrophilic and hydrophobic room temperature ionic liquids incorporating the imidazolium cation , 2001 .

[79]  Joan Fuller,et al.  The room temperature ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate : Electrochemical couples and physical properties , 1997 .

[80]  A. Abbott,et al.  Application of ionic liquids to the electrodeposition of metals. , 2006, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[81]  V. M. Egorov,et al.  Task-specific ionic liquid trioctylmethylammonium salicylate as extraction solvent for transition metal ions. , 2010, Talanta.

[82]  D. Armstrong,et al.  Ionic liquids in separations. , 2007, Accounts of chemical research.

[83]  C. Barnes,et al.  Solvent extraction of strontium nitrate by a crown ether using room-temperature ionic liquids† , 1999 .

[84]  T. Friščić,et al.  Removal of metal ions from aqueous solutions using chelating task-specific ionic liquids. , 2008, Dalton transactions.

[85]  M. Matsumoto,et al.  Extraction of organic acids using imidazolium-based ionic liquids and their toxicity to Lactobacillus rhamnosus , 2004 .

[86]  F. Endres,et al.  In situ STM investigation of gold reconstruction and of silicon electrodeposition on Au(111) in the room temperature ionic liquid 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. , 2006, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[87]  Sangki Chun,et al.  Influence of structural variation in room-temperature ionic liquids on the selectivity and efficiency of competitive alkali metal salt extraction by a crown ether. , 2001, Analytical chemistry.

[88]  A. Abbott,et al.  Processing of electric arc furnace dust using deep eutectic solvents , 2009 .

[89]  Robin D. Rogers,et al.  Ionic liquids are not always green: hydrolysis of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate , 2003 .

[90]  M. Grätzel,et al.  Hydrophobic, Highly Conductive Ambient-Temperature Molten Salts. , 1996, Inorganic chemistry.

[91]  C. Afonso,et al.  Preparation and characterization of new room temperature ionic liquids. , 2002, Chemistry.

[92]  P. Scammells,et al.  Biodegradable ionic liquids : Part III. The first readily biodegradable ionic liquids , 2006 .