Abstract
Ionic liquids have gained great attention as an alternative to conventional volatile organic solvents due to their advantageous properties. These compounds are organic salts formed by cations and anions with low or negligible vapor pressure, non-flammability, and typically remain liquid at temperature below 100 ºC. While their range of application has been greatly widened in the last years, they offer especially attractive properties for biodiesel synthesis. The production of biodiesel, which can be obtained from renewable feedstock sources, is usually performed through transesterification. The application of ionic liquids in this process can help to overcome some of the limitations found in conventional processes that use base or acid chemical catalysts and biocatalyst (enzymes). In this sense, the chemical structure of ionic liquids can be tailored by properly combining suitable anions and cations for specific purposes.
This chapter reviews the role of ionic liquids in biodiesel synthesis acting as solvent, catalysts, and catalyst supports. Specifically, the chapter deals with the use of ionic liquids (1) as single catalysts in transesterification and esterification reactions for biodiesel production, (2) in combination with other chemical materials such as metallic catalysts, and (3) as reaction media for biocatalyst such as enzymes. In this last case, ionic liquids have shown to greatly increase enzyme activity and stability versus other conventional solvents, offering promising prospect for enzymatic biodiesel production.
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Andreo-Martínez, P., Ortiz-Martínez, V.M., Quesada-Medina, J. (2020). Ionic Liquids as Solvents and Catalysts for Biodiesel Production. In: Inamuddin, Asiri, A. (eds) Nanotechnology-Based Industrial Applications of Ionic Liquids. Nanotechnology in the Life Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44995-7_3
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