Removal of ionic liquid by engineered bentonite from aqueous solution

The removal of ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride: BMImCl) was studied from aqueous solution by raw bentonite, acid-activated bentonite and organic-modified bentonite. These types of bentonite sample were characterized by FT-IR, TGA and XRD. The effects of contact time, BMImCl initial concentration, pH, ionic strength, and humic acid on the removal of BMImCl were investigated via batch adsorption experiments. The adsorption kinetics models were applied to predict the adsorption constants, and the kinetic data indicated that the pseudo-second-order model gave a better fit. Furthermore, the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms models were also introduced to describe adsorption process in order to obtain possible mechanism of the removal. The applied isotherms models demonstrated that the adsorption data of acid-activated bentonite samples were well described by Temkin adsorption isotherm, and the isotherm model of organic-modified bentonite was Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The adsorption experiments indicated that these bentonite samples might be applied in repair of soil and water contaminated by ionic liquids.