A Review on Biodiesel Production by Transesterification Catalyzed by Ionic Liquid Catalysts

As a substitute for traditional fossil fuels, Biodiesel has attracted more attention recently for its nature of environmental friendliness. As catalysts, Ionic liquids which possess unique properties have found important applications for many reactions including production of biodiesel by transesterification. The paper gives a review on the feasibility of using ionic liquids as the catalysts in biodiesel synthesis by transesterification, which is summarized as basic ionic liquid catalyst systems, acidic ionic liquid catalyst systems, and solid material supported ionic liquid catalyst systems. Keywords: Biodiesel, ionic liquid, transesterification, catalyst.