Synfacts 2010(3): 0358-0358  
DOI: 10.1055/s-0029-1219414
Organo- and Biocatalysis
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart ˙ New York

An Efficient Ionic Liquid Catalyst for the Synthesis of Biodiesel

Contributor(s): Benjamin List, Lars Ratjen
X. Liang*, J. Yang
Shaoxing University and East China Normal University, Shanghai, P. R. of China
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
18 February 2010 (online)

Significance

A new acidic ionic liquid (IL) 1 was developed for the purpose of biodiesel synthesis. This new catalyst, based on hexamethylene­tetramine and 1,4-butane sulfonate bears up to four highly acidic SO3H groups. With the catalyst in hand, rapeseed oils were methanolytically hydrolyzed into glycerol and the corresponding fatty acid methyl esters, the biodiesel equivalents. The workup proved to be easy, since excess methanol was removed under vacuum, the IL was centrifuged off and glycerol and biodiesel were simply phase-separated. The recovered catalyst could be reused ten times and still proved equally effective compared to previously known biodiesel synthesis catalysts (e.g., neat H2SO4 or [SO3H-Bmim][HSO4]).