Simultaneous solubility of carbon dioxide and hydrogen in the ionic liquid [hmim][Tf2N]: Experimental results and correlation

The solubility of a single gas as well as the simultaneous solubility of several gases in an ionic liquid is of great interest in many areas of chemical engineering, particularly in heterogeneous catalysis. One of the most interesting features involved in the study of the simultaneous solubility of several gases in a pure ionic liquid is the difference between experimental data and predictions for the simultaneous solubility (based on experimental data for the solubility of the single gases). The well soluble gas might act as a cosolvent or as an antisolvent for a sparsely soluble second gas. New experimental results and a correlation are presented for the simultaneous solubility of hydrogen (i.e., a sparsely soluble gas) and carbon dioxide (a well soluble gas) in the ionic liquid 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide ([hmim][Tf2N]) at temperatures between 293 K and 373 K and pressures up to about 9.2 MPa. The experimental results reveal that carbon dioxide acts as a cosolvent for hydrogen in that particular ionic liquid. A correlation shows that the cosolvency effect can be modeled by considering interaction parameters between hydrogen and carbon dioxide in liquid [hmim][Tf2N]. The correlation can also be used to quantify that cosolvency effect: one mole of carbon dioxide in 1000 g of [hmim][Tf2N] increases the solubility of (small amounts of) hydrogen by about 20%.

► We measured/modeled the solubility of (H2 + CO2) in an ionic liquid.
► The presence of carbon dioxide increases the solubility of hydrogen.
► The salting-in is as large as the salting-out caused by NaCl on CO2 in water.