Enhancing Alkaline Biodiesel Transesterification Using Protic Ionic Liquid [DETA][Hx] as a Low-Concentration Additive
- 1Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) , , Rua Prof. Aristides Novis 02, Federação , / ,
- 2Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) , , Av. Adhemar de Barros, Ondina , / ,
Abstract
Protic ionic liquids (PILs) have emerged as cost-effective alternatives to aprotic ionic liquids in biodiesel production. In biphasic transesterification systems, the intrinsic immiscibility between methanol and oil phases represents an important limitation affecting reaction performance. In this context, the present study investigates the influence of diethylenetriammonium hexanoate ([DETA][Hx]) as a low-concentration physicochemical additive in conventional KOH-catalyzed soybean oil transesterification. A factorial experimental design was employed to evaluate the effects of ionic liquid concentration (0–3% w/w) and reaction time (30–60 min) on biodiesel yield. The results showed that low concentrations of [DETA][Hx] significantly affected process performance, increasing biodiesel yield by 5.1% and reaching a gravimetric biodiesel yield of 97.1%. Physicochemical analyses revealed changes in surface tension behavior in systems containing [DETA][Hx], which, together with the observed yield response, are consistent with a possible influence of the ionic liquid on physicochemical and interfacial interactions within the reaction medium. FT-IR analyses suggested that the ionic liquid structure remained preserved under the evaluated conditions, supporting the interpretation that [DETA][Hx] primarily influences the reaction medium through physicochemical interactions rather than through direct chemical participation in the transesterification reaction. Although direct transport-related measurements were beyond the scope of the present study, the observed behavior suggests that low concentrations of protic ionic liquids may influence phase interactions and reaction performance in alkaline biodiesel transesterification systems. Overall, the present work provides experimental evidence supporting the investigation of protic ionic liquids as low-concentration physicochemical additives for biodiesel production.
Related
- Optimization of Base-Catalyzed Transesterification toward Maximum Biodiesel Yield from Camelus dromedarius Fat Waste
- CeO2 as a novel additive for enhancing the oxidation resistance of ZrB2–SiC ultra-high temperature ceramics: role of Ce-mediated ZrSiO4 formation
- Study of Structural and Multifunctional Characteristics in Dynamic Transesterification-Aided Epoxy Carbon Nanocomposites
- Aqueous-rich flow intensification for enzymatic transesterification of rose geranium oil in a coiled flow inverter microreactor
- Two-Stage Optimization of Oleic Acid Esterification via Response Surface Methodology and Green Chemistry Metrics Selection for Biodiesel from WCO
BibTeX
@article{trindade2026enhancing,
title = {{Enhancing Alkaline Biodiesel Transesterification Using Protic Ionic Liquid [DETA][Hx] as a Low-Concentration Additive}},
author = {Monique E. J. Trindade and Diogo S. N. Cardoso and Kleberson R. O. Pereira and Silvana Mattedi and George Simonelli and Luiz C. L. Santos},
journal = {ACS Omega},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1021/acsomega.6c08386},
url = {https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/11/42/65476/5451421/Enhancing-Alkaline-Biodiesel-Transesterification},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Enhancing Alkaline Biodiesel Transesterification Using Protic Ionic Liquid [DETA][Hx] as a Low-Concentration Additive
AU - Monique E. J. Trindade
AU - Diogo S. N. Cardoso
AU - Kleberson R. O. Pereira
AU - Silvana Mattedi
AU - George Simonelli
AU - Luiz C. L. Santos
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - ACS Omega
DO - 10.1021/acsomega.6c08386
UR - https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/11/42/65476/5451421/Enhancing-Alkaline-Biodiesel-Transesterification
AB - Protic ionic liquids (PILs) have emerged as cost-effective alternatives to aprotic ionic liquids in biodiesel production. In biphasic transesterification systems, the intrinsic immiscibility between methanol and oil phases represents an important limitation affecting reaction performance. In this context, the present study investigates the influence of diethylenetriammonium hexanoate ([DETA][Hx]) as a low-concentration physicochemical additive in conventional KOH-catalyzed soybean oil transesterification. A factorial experimental design was employed to evaluate the effects of ionic liquid concentration (0–3% w/w) and reaction time (30–60 min) on biodiesel yield. The results showed that low concentrations of [DETA][Hx] significantly affected process performance, increasing biodiesel yield by 5.1% and reaching a gravimetric biodiesel yield of 97.1%. Physicochemical analyses revealed changes in surface tension behavior in systems containing [DETA][Hx], which, together with the observed yield response, are consistent with a possible influence of the ionic liquid on physicochemical and interfacial interactions within the reaction medium. FT-IR analyses suggested that the ionic liquid structure remained preserved under the evaluated conditions, supporting the interpretation that [DETA][Hx] primarily influences the reaction medium through physicochemical interactions rather than through direct chemical participation in the transesterification reaction. Although direct transport-related measurements were beyond the scope of the present study, the observed behavior suggests that low concentrations of protic ionic liquids may influence phase interactions and reaction performance in alkaline biodiesel transesterification systems. Overall, the present work provides experimental evidence supporting the investigation of protic ionic liquids as low-concentration physicochemical additives for biodiesel production.
SN - 2470-1343
ER -