A recyclable enzymatic biodiesel production process in ionic liquids.

Immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B suspended in ionic liquids containing long alkyl-chain cations showed excellent synthetic activity and operational stability for biodiesel production. The interest of this process lies in the possibility of recycling the biocatalyst and the easy separation of the biodiesel from the reaction mixture. The ionic liquids used, 1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium triflimide ([C(16)MIM][NTf(2)]) and 1-octadecyl-3-methylimidazolium triflimide ([C(18)MIM][NTf(2)]), produced homogeneous systems at the start of the reaction and, at the end of the same, formed a three-phase system, allowing the selective extraction of the products using straightforward separation techniques, and the recycling of both the ionic liquid and the enzyme. These are very important advantages which may be found useful in environmentally friendly production conditions.