Sustainability Improvement of Chemical Processes using Amino Ionic Liquids as Catalysts in Water

• Main Authors: P. Primerano, M.F. Milazzo, F. Risitano
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. 2015-05-01
• Series: Chemical Engineering Transactions
• Online Access: https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/5147

Within the development of chemical processes, according to Green Chemistry and Engineering guidelines, the use of solvents, given their toxicity, must be greatly reduced or eliminated. Reactions, realized in the absence of solvent or using water, would be desirable. Unfortunately, these two alternatives are not always viable due to two main reasons: (1) the use of a solvent is mainly necessary to facilitate the mass and heat transfer; (2) water is an impractical solvent for organic transformations because most organic compounds are insoluble or have a low solubility in water. As a consequence, many efforts are being made to find less harmful reaction medium. Recently, a new generation of Ionic Liquids with a functional group incorporated in the side chain to meet the needs of specific reactions (TSILs) is gaining increasing interest, as they enclose both solvent and catalytic properties. In this context, a new basic type of Ionic Liquids (BILs), incorporating a ß-amino group in the side chain was introduced (Primerano et al., 2013). In this paper the synthesis and use of a new IL of the above class, containing the acetate as anion, together with an estimate of related E-factors is presented. Some comments about the increasing environmental sustainability for the processes due the use of the previous and novel BILs in water are given.