A process concept for separation of hydrophobic compounds tuned by aqueous ionic liquid was developed and demonstrated by two typical cases, namely extractive desulfurization of fuel and separation of detergent range alcohol-alkane mixture. The ionic liquid tetrabutylphosphonium bromide (TBPB) and water, which present opposite interactions with hydrophobic solutes, were used to tune the separation process by adjusting their ratio. A small amount of water was favorable for extraction, while a large amount of water was beneficial for regeneration. For each separation case, the 1:2 M ratio of TBPB and water gave an effective extraction performance; further introducing water decreased hydrophobic solute solubility and promoted regeneration. The regenerated aqueous TBPB had an extraction efficiency close to that of fresh one. This tunable separation process relying on water is therefore environmentally friendly and can be extended for other hydrophobic compounds separation.

提出了一种通过水性离子液体调节疏水性化合物分离的工艺概念，并通过两种典型情况进行了论证，即燃料的萃取脱硫和洗涤剂系列醇-烷烃混合物的分离。离子液体溴化四丁基phosph（TBPB）和水与疏水性溶质呈现相反的相互作用，可通过调节其比例来调节分离过程。少量的水有利于提取，而大量的水有利于再生。对于每种分离情况，TBPB和水的1：2 M比例均具有有效的萃取性能；进一步引入水降低了疏水溶质的溶解度并促进了再生。再生的TBTB水溶液的提取效率接近新鲜的。