Polymeric ionic liquids (PILs) with high acid density: Tunable catalytic performance for biodiesel production

[Display omitted] A series of polymeric ionic liquids (PILs) used as effective heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production via esterification of free fatty acids (FFAs) were effectively prepared by the reaction of poly (ethylene imine) (PEI) polymers with different molecular weight and 1,3-propanesultone, followed by the further acidification with differential effective acids, i.e. H2SO4, CF3SO3H, CH3SO3H or p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TSA). Ultrahigh acidity and catalytic performance were achieved and could be fine-tuned by simply adjusting the molecular weight of PEI and by further treatment of acids. Specifically, under the optimal conditions (i.e. reaction temperature was 70 °C, reaction time was 2.0 h, catalyst dosage was 3.15% (mass), and alcohol/acid molar ratio was 14:1) acquired through the Box-BEHNKEN response surface methodology, a high oleic acid conversion of 98.42% could be obtained over the optimal PIL, PEI(70000)-PS-p-TSA. Additionally, our PILs also showed high generality for esterification of other FFAs, with general high conversion over 90% noted in each case even under much milder reaction conditions compared to other conventional catalysts.