title: Environmental Application, Fate, Effects, and Concerns of Ionic Liquids: A Review.
abstract: Ionic liquids (ILs) comprise mostly of organic salts with negligible vapor pressure and low flammability that are proposed as replacements for volatile solvents. ILs have been promoted as "green" solvents and widely investigated for their various applications. Although the utility of these chemicals is unquestionable, their toxic effects have attracted great attention. In order to manage their potential hazards and design environmentally benign ILs, understanding their environmental behavior, fate and effects is important. In this review, environmentally relevant issues of ILs, including their environmental application, environmental behavior and toxicity are addressed. In addition, also presented are the influence of ILs on the environmental fate and toxicity of other coexisting contaminants, important routes for designing nontoxic ILs and the techniques that might be adopted for the removal of ILs.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences , P.O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, China.|College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Meseret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amde
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences , P.O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, China.|Institute of Environment and Health, Jianghan University , Hubei Province, Wuhan 430056, China.
authors.forename: Jing-Fu
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Material and Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry , No. 166, Science Avenue, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pang
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D004777:Environment; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000633:toxicity; D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000633:toxicity; D012492:Salts; D012997:Solvents; D055548:Vapor Pressure
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D052578:Ionic Liquids; D012492:Salts; D012997:Solvents