1 Important Developments in the History of Ionic Liquids …
9
for a variety of applications. This chapter provides important insights into several
aspects of commercial ionic liquid production, such as synthesis, purity, and price.
Part IV provides examples of future products and processes that will use ionic
liquids. Chapter 9, written by Dr. Luke Haverhals
10 [46] and Professors David
Durkin and Paul Trulove (U.S. Naval Academy) [47], describes a revolutionary
process for designing new high-performance composites. Their chapter entitled
“Natural Fiber Welding” describes fabrication techniques for using natural materials to produce robust, functional, and biodegradable composites that can displace
non-biodegradable plastics.
Chapter 10, entitled “Development of New Cellulosic Fibers and Composites
using Ionic Liquids Technology,” was written by Dr. Frank Hermanutz and Marc
Philip Vocht at the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research [48] and Professor
Dr. Michael Buchmeiser at the University of Stuttgart [49]. Several examples for
processing cellulose to produce materials, such as super-microfibers, all-cellulose
composites (ACCs), and carbon fibers, are discussed.
The final Chap. 11 written by Dr. Roland Kalb
11 [50] provides over 50 applications
for ionic liquids that have been commercialized or are in pilot scale indicating that
an exciting new era in the field is about to begin.
Next, we describe the development of the ionic compressor.
1.4 Ionic Compressor
The idea of an “ionic compressor” originates from the principle of communicating
vessels. A liquid piston compression system for compressing low-pressure steam to
recover waste heat was described in a 1984 patent document [51]. The compressing
liquid was either water or glycol. A liquid with appropriate tribological properties can
improve compression performance because the device can operate with fewer moving
parts, produce less noise, work without sophisticated sealing systems, and the heat
conductivity of the liquid can be used to perform a nearly isothermal compression.
Wear is significantly reduced, and maintenance intervals can be lengthened compared
to conventional techniques. In 2000, Pieperbeck [52] described a method to compress
explosive gas mixtures using this principle. The working fluid was characterized by
its low vapor pressure and low solubility of the gas in the fluid combined with nonreactivity at the operating conditions. As a typical feature, most ionic liquids have
negligible vapor pressure.
The idea to use ionic liquids in compression technology was developed by Adler
and co-workers [53]. Ionic liquids offer the possibility to combine anion and cation
(“tailor-made solvents”) that can specifically adapt to the medium. The handling of
hydrogen as a fuel is challenging, because a fuel cell requires the absence of any
contaminants, and storage and dispensing of hydrogen are often at high pressures up
10 Natural Fiber Welding, Inc.
11 Proionic GmbH.
9
for a variety of applications. This chapter provides important insights into several
aspects of commercial ionic liquid production, such as synthesis, purity, and price.
Part IV provides examples of future products and processes that will use ionic
liquids. Chapter 9, written by Dr. Luke Haverhals
10 [46] and Professors David
Durkin and Paul Trulove (U.S. Naval Academy) [47], describes a revolutionary
process for designing new high-performance composites. Their chapter entitled
“Natural Fiber Welding” describes fabrication techniques for using natural materials to produce robust, functional, and biodegradable composites that can displace
non-biodegradable plastics.
Chapter 10, entitled “Development of New Cellulosic Fibers and Composites
using Ionic Liquids Technology,” was written by Dr. Frank Hermanutz and Marc
Philip Vocht at the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research [48] and Professor
Dr. Michael Buchmeiser at the University of Stuttgart [49]. Several examples for
processing cellulose to produce materials, such as super-microfibers, all-cellulose
composites (ACCs), and carbon fibers, are discussed.
The final Chap. 11 written by Dr. Roland Kalb
11 [50] provides over 50 applications
for ionic liquids that have been commercialized or are in pilot scale indicating that
an exciting new era in the field is about to begin.
Next, we describe the development of the ionic compressor.
1.4 Ionic Compressor
The idea of an “ionic compressor” originates from the principle of communicating
vessels. A liquid piston compression system for compressing low-pressure steam to
recover waste heat was described in a 1984 patent document [51]. The compressing
liquid was either water or glycol. A liquid with appropriate tribological properties can
improve compression performance because the device can operate with fewer moving
parts, produce less noise, work without sophisticated sealing systems, and the heat
conductivity of the liquid can be used to perform a nearly isothermal compression.
Wear is significantly reduced, and maintenance intervals can be lengthened compared
to conventional techniques. In 2000, Pieperbeck [52] described a method to compress
explosive gas mixtures using this principle. The working fluid was characterized by
its low vapor pressure and low solubility of the gas in the fluid combined with nonreactivity at the operating conditions. As a typical feature, most ionic liquids have
negligible vapor pressure.
The idea to use ionic liquids in compression technology was developed by Adler
and co-workers [53]. Ionic liquids offer the possibility to combine anion and cation
(“tailor-made solvents”) that can specifically adapt to the medium. The handling of
hydrogen as a fuel is challenging, because a fuel cell requires the absence of any
contaminants, and storage and dispensing of hydrogen are often at high pressures up
10 Natural Fiber Welding, Inc.
11 Proionic GmbH.