Abstract
•Ionic liquids were screened to be used as separating agents for GHGs using various separation processes.•A total of 720 ILs were screened from different cation and anion families.•COSMO-RS results suggest that quaternary ammonium and choline cations are suitable for separating GHGs.•Also, biobased anions shows promising results, hence greener processes can be designed using these ILs for the separation of GHGs.
As the world's population, urbanization, and industrialization grow, so does the production of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Considering the harmful impact of these gases on the environment and livelihood, capturing them is necessary to reduce their levels in the atmosphere. Conventional solvents for capturing greenhouse gases, mainly CO2, CH4, and N2O, are toxic, expensive, and result in the generation of additional waste. To overcome these limitations, Ionic liquids (ILs), a class of “green solvents,” are a sustainable alternative for greenhouse gas capture because of their excellent properties. The only restriction is that screening for millions of ILs is time-consuming and inconvenient. Conductor-like screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS) is an efficient technique to prescreen ILs. This study outlines eight cations and thirty anions, forming 240 ILs combinations for each GHGs CO2, CH4, and N2O. All in total, 720 ILs combinations were screened. COSMO-RS results suggest that phosphonium, choline, and ammonium cations, electronegative and food-grade anions such as [F−], [SO42−], [Gly], [Lys] will be suitable for capturing greenhouse gases.