Towards sustainable use of ionic liquids from the safety viewpoint: from research results to applications in the domain of biorefining

Research and development on Ionic Liquids (ILs) has grown tremendously in the last decade owing to their interesting properties and industrial uses in diversified areas. Targeted applications for ILs include replacement of volatile organic solvents in separation processes, organic chemistry, microelectronics, energy storage, analytics, etc. One major advantage regarding biorefinery processes is their ability to dissolve lignocelluloses. Being liquid in a wide range of temperatures, their functional properties can be finely tuned by e.g. a) selecting appropriately the cationic and anionic moieties, b) adjusting the alkyl chain length of the cation, c) functionalizing cation or anion or both and d) even combining 2 cations to a single anion. According to many literature sources, ILs are projected as green solvents which are nontoxic, biodegradable, and thermally stable, meeting technological and economical demands. Recent literature studies assessed the potential risks of their application based on entire lifecycle from preparation to disposal, with emphasis on their environmental impacts. Studies have confirmed that physicochemical hazards and impacts to health and environment may vary according to IL structure and its characteristics. This poster outlines current understanding not only in terms of safety advantages but also potential hazards of ILs. This is important for scaling up a potential application from lab to industrial scale in a safe and sustainable way. These aspects are currently studied in the EU project ZELCOR with a special focus on lignin depolymerization