Ionic Liquids are salts with melting temperature below 100 °C. They have fascinating characteristics that made them an eco-friendly replacement for volatile organic solvents. Over years, research has proven the capability of Ionic Liquids to extract heavy metals and organic compounds from water and organic solvents. Researchers have also been able to immobilize Ionic Liquid on Solid support to be used as a catalyst. This study investigates the dissolution of petroleum asphaltenes with ionic liquid. The important parameters governing the ability of ionic liquids for dissolution of asphaltenes are discussed. The ionic liquids based on the cations containing a conjugated aromatic core or the anions which are strong hydrogen bond acceptors are most effective, whereas the ionic liquids containing non coordinating anions such as [BF] and [PF] are nonsolvents for asphaltenes. Increase in the effective anion charge density enhances the ability of ionic liquids to break the extensive asphaltenes associations and thus enhances the solubility of asphaltenes in the ionic liquid. Temperature is found to play an important role on dissolution of asphaltenes and the dissolution can be significantly improved by microwave heating.
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