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Driven by the high energy demand and environmental concerns, biodiesel as a substitute for fossil fuels is recognized as promising renewable and clean energy. Biodiesel has gained interest around the world over the last few years because it could be used to reduce most regulated exhaust emissions. Herein, we discuss the application of catalytic transesterification by using ionic liquids (ILs) catalyst with alcohol and waste oil for the clean synthesis of biodiesel in order to reduce the emission of NO x and CO. However, the running cost of this process is still higher than that of the conventional chemical transesterification. Non-edible sources such as waste oil, non-edible vegetable oil, and waste animal oil are commonly used to produce biodiesel due to their low cost and no dependency on the food chain. This review provides an overview of the recent progresses in improving the biodiesel production process by using ILs and determining the activation energy and the properties of the finished product. In addition, the future direction in biodiesel production via ILs catalysis in the transesterification has been discussed. • We review the catalytic activity of the various catalysts. • A biodiesel yield was achieved by using the ionic liquids with diethyl carbonate. • The ionic liquid with diethyl carbonate was shown to be the most efficient procedure. • The process can generate high purity green fuel that meets the quality demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimization and kinetic modeling of methyl ester production from non-edible tung nut oil (Vernicia fordii) and methanol using a solid acidic ionic liquid polymer as a catalyst were performed in this study. A solid acidic ionic liquid polymer was synthesized using vinyl imidazole, 1, 3-propane sulfonate, N, N- dimethyl dodecylamine, allyl bromide and toluene, characterized and used for transesterification of tung nut oil for methyl esters synthesis. The optimum reaction conditions resulted in highest methyl ester yield of 91% were a tung-nut- oil -to-methanol molar ratio of 1:1.5, solid acidic ionic liquid polymer catalyst loading of 160 wt % based on the oil, reaction time of 6 h, agitation speed of 400 rpm and reaction temperature of 65 °C. Further kinetic studies performed at different temperatures revealed that the conversion of tung nut oil to methyl ester follows the first order reaction. Methyl esters were purified using an ion exchange resin and then analyzed by GC-MS. The activation energy (Ea) was calculated as 72.81 kJ mol−1. The properties of methyl esters such as kinematic viscosity at 40 °C, density at 25 °C, cloud point and pour point were also determined. Methyl esters met the quality standard defined under ASTM. Image 1 • The novel solid acidic ionic liquid polymer has been synthesized and characterized. • The solid acidic ionic liquid polymer showed high capacity in methyl esters production. • Maximum yield of methyl esters (91%) at 65 °C for 6 h with 400 rpm. • The process can generate biodiesel of high purity that meets the quality demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]