Screening of ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents for the extraction of persistent organic pollutants from edible oils and fat

Presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) like polychlorinated-p-dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in edible oils poses risk to human health. Ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are novel combinatorial solvents with a proven record of extraction of such persistent organic pollutants (POPs). However, the large possibility of such combinatorial solvents necessitates an a-priori screening strategy to select the best possible ILs and DESs. Therefore, a Conductor like Screening Model Segment Activity Coefficient (COSMO-SAC) based framework has been employed to extract 27 POPs (6 PCDDs, 9 PCDFs, 12 PCBs) from five types of edible oil and animal fat by ILs and DESs. The screening will create such a list and based on that experimentation can be performed. There are five different types of oils and fats such as sunflower oil, soya lecithin, rapeseed oil, fish oil, and milk fat that are selected as potential sources of PCDD/Fs and PCBs. A combination of 58 cations and 39 anions which will yield 2262 types of IL and 217 types of DESs with the proportional combination of 24 HBAs and 62 HBDs are considered. Infinite dilution activity coefficient (IDAC) and solubility are calculated based on COSMO-SAC modelling and a set of ILs and DESs are screened as a potential extractant for POPs. The study aims to select the most suitable green solvents to extract these POPs from edible oils to render them safe for consumption.