Fatty alcohol/water reaction-separation platform to produce propylene carbonate from captured CO2 using a hydrophobic ionic liquid

The combined use of a hydrophobic ionic liquid catalyst and a fatty alcohol is presented to synergistically improve cycloaddition reaction of CO2 to epoxides producing cyclic carbonates and envision catalyst recovery by cyclic carbonate removal using water as extracting solvent. This approach is described for the production of propylene carbonate using trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium 2-cyanopyrrolide catalyst -which chemically captures CO2 reactant- and 1-decanol/water mixture as extracting solvent. The novel use of fatty alcohols on CO2 cycloaddition reaction not only permits the effective separation of the catalyst and the product purification, but also improves the CO2 conversion in the reactor, and opens the challenge of process intensification by integrated CO2 capture and conversion.

Automated summary

The combination of a hydrophobic ionic liquid catalyst and a fatty alcohol synergistically improves the cycloaddition reaction of CO2 to epoxides, producing cyclic carbonates. This approach not only allows for catalyst recovery and product purification, but also enhances CO2 conversion in the reactor, opening up the possibility of process intensification through integrated CO2 capture and conversion.