Desalination of aqueous media using ionic liquids

The present invention relates to a method for extracting metal and/or metalloid ions from an aqueous medium, comprising the steps of: a) mixing the aqueous medium with an ionic liquid comprising an aliphatic carboxylate anion having at least one unsaturated carbon-carbon bond, or and/or with a cation comprising at least two amino acids; b) transferring the metal and/or metalloid ions from the aqueous medium to the ionic liquid; c) separating the ionic liquid and the aqueous medium; and d) obtaining the metal and/or metalloid ions from the ionic liquid by at least one method selected from electrochemically reducing the metal and/or metalloid ions, crystallization, and precipitation. Further, the present invention relates to the ionic liquids and their use thereof.