Production and characterization of biodiesel obtained by transesterification catalysed by ionic liquids based on imidazolium
Conference Paper
Overview
Research
Additional Document Info
View All
Overview
abstract
Biodiesel is a fuel that shows an increasing demand as a promising alternative to petroleum-based fuels. Biodiesel is produced by means of esterification or transesterification reactions, from renewable raw materials, as animal and vegetable oils and fats. The biodiesel generated by the traditional method of production proved that is economically and environmentally disadvantageous, due to this, in its production process changes are necessary to reduce its costs and make it an ecological product, such as, the introduction of used oils as feedstock. Moreover, the catalysts traditionally employed are not so effective due to the fact that these oils presents low quality, since they contain high levels of fatty acids in their composition. Ionic liquids arise as one promising solution to this problem, and some studies with hydrogen sulfate 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium [BMIM][HSO4] refer that this ionic liquid can be an viable catalyst choice for biodiesel production processes.