Methods for recovery of ionic liquids—A review

•Summarizing methods for separation and recovery of ionic liquids.•Distillation, extraction, adsorption, induced phase separation, membrane-based separations.•Advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted much attention in both academics and industries as promising solvents for a diverse range of applications. However, there were little industrial processes employing ILs as current time due to the economical and efficient use of ILs. The economic efficiency can be improved by recycling and reuse of ILs. In the last few decades, several attempts have been made, by the researchers, for recovery and recycling of ILs. This review is intended to present a comprehensive summary on the methods used for recovery and recycling of ILs.