This work evaluates the ability of ionic liquid loaded activated carbon sorbents to remove SO2 under simulated atmospheric conditions of 15 ppm SO2 in air, temperature of 25 degrees C and relative humidity of 50%. Amongst the nine ionic liquid (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium lactate, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methyl sulfate, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium tris(pentafluoroethyl) trifluorophosphate and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogensulfate) sorbents studied, the 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate loaded activated carbon exhibited the highest SO2 sorption capacity performance. The attained results clearly indicate that some ionic liquids such as 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazoBum bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide with high absorptivity in pure SO2 would perform poorly under practical conditions. As a result of the superior performance of the 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate loaded activated carbon, further tests and characterizations were performed on the sorbent. The performance of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate sorbent increased along with ionic liquid loading onto the activated carbon. The 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate sorbent breakthrough time was greater than pure activated carbon and 10 wt% potassium hydroxide loaded activated carbon standard. The SO2 sorption rate of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate loaded activated carbon was inversely proportional to test bed temperature. FTIR-ATR, NMR and thermal analysis of SO2 sorbed 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate loaded activated carbon indicated the presence of both physisorbed and chemisorbed SO2. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.