ABSTRACT
Biofuel production involves several stages of feedstock processing which include pretreatment, extraction, conversion and separation of the process reaction mixtures and solvents. Lignocellulosic feedstock can be processed using ionic liquids to enhance hydrolysis and sugar recovery suitable for bioethanol and biogas production. Ionic liquids can be used as solvents in oil extraction and as catalysts in transesterification reaction. Many characteristics of ionic liquids render them suitable for applications in microwave assisted organic and inorganic synthesis. The chapter provides a comparison of various differences between the organic solvents and ionic liquids. Enzymes combined with imidazolium type ionic liquids produced more active and stable catalysts as the ionic liquids were able to protect the lipase from deactivation induced by methanol. The chapter describes a possible reaction mechanism of a cationic ionic liquid. Cellulose dissolution in ionic liquids with the aid of microwave heating has been reported frequently as well.
