Degradation of imidazolium-based ionic liquids in aqueous solution using plasma electrolysis

Highlights: • More than 95% of imidazolium-based ILs was degraded within 120 min by means of PE. • The removal efficiency decreased as the order [Cl]− > [Br]− > [Ac]− ≈ [BF4]−. • [C2mim]Cl was the most stable compared to [C4mim]Cl and [C6mim]Cl. • The initial concentration of ILs was found to affect the degradation efficiency. • The imidazole ring was oxidized and then broken to form small molecular compounds. -- Abstract: A novel method of degrading imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) in wastewater using plasma electrolysis (PE) was proposed. The advantage of the PE method was that the ILs acted as both pollutant and electrolyte in the system. Results indicated that ILs with initial concentrations of 1.0–4.0 g/100 mL readily decomposed under an applied voltage of 600 V within 120 min. The anion and alkyl chain lengths of the ILs, discharge time, and post-treatment time were also found to be significant, and the degradation could be described by pseudo-first-order kinetics. Moreover, the energy efficiency of PE for degradation was calculated. The energy yield was generally higher than 2.0 g/kWh, which is approximately 100 times that of the degradation of methyl orange. The oxygen atom, hydroxyl radicals, and hydrogen peroxide produced by PE were important in the oxidation and cleavage of the ILs, and the degradation pathway of the imidazolium-based ILs was investigated using IC, FT-IR, NMR, and GC–MS techniques