The current state applications of ethyl carbonate with ionic liquid in sustainable biodiesel production: A review

Abstract 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 NOx 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.