Magnetically separable heteropolyanion based ionic liquid as a heterogeneous catalyst for ultrasound mediated biodiesel production through esterification of fatty acids

Abstract

The catalytic production of biodiesel has attracted the attention of academic and commercial research due to its higher efficiency and environmental sustainability. In this article, a magnetically separable heteropolyanion-based ionic liquid was synthesized, and its catalytic activity was evaluated for biodiesel production through the esterification of long-chain fatty acid under ultrasonic irradiation. The influence of different experimental parameters like amount of catalyst, the molar ratio of alcohol to acid, reaction temperature and time were evaluated. The article also describes the effect of the varying alcohols and fatty acids of different chain lengths, shapes, and unsaturation on esterification reaction. Moreover, after the reaction's completion catalyst can be easily separated from the reaction mixture through the external magnet and could be reused up to six reaction cycles without losing its catalytic efficiency.