Preface

Solvents and ionic liquids are ubiquitous within our whole life since ancient times and their effects are actually being studied through basic sciences like Chemistry, Physics and Biology as well as being researched by a large number of scientific disciplines.

This book represents an attempt to present examples on the utility of old and new solvents and the effects they exercise on several fields of academic and industrial interest. The first section, Solvents, presents information on bio-solvents and their synthesis, industrial production and applications, about per and trichloroethylene air monitoring in dry cleaners in the city of Sfax (Tunsia) and on the synthesis of polyimides using molten benzoic acid as the solvent. The second section, Ionic Liquids, shows information about the synthesis, physicochemical characterization and exploration of antimicrobial activities of imidazolium ionic liquid-supported Schiff base and its transition metal complexes, the technology of heterogenization of transition metal catalysts towards the synthetic applications in an ionic liquid matrix, the progress in ionic liquids as reaction media, monomers, and additives in high-performance polymers, a pre-screening of ionic liquids as gas hydrate inhibitor via application of COSMO-RS for methane hydrates, the extraction of aromatic compounds from their mixtures with alkanes from ternary to quaternary (or higher) systems and a review on ionic liquids as environmental benign solvent for cellulose chemistry. The final section, Solvent Effects, displays interesting information on solvent effects on dye sensitizers derived from anthocyanidins for applications in photocatalysis, about the solvent effect on a model of SNAr reaction in conventional and non-conventional solvents, and on solvent effects in supramolecular systems.

The Editors would like to express their sincere gratitude to all authors who have contributed to this book: Novisi K. Oklu, Leah C. Matsinha, Banothile C. E. Makhubela, Fatma Omrane, Imed Gargouri, Moncef Khadhraoui, Alexander A. Kuznetsov, Anna Yu. Tsegelskaya, Diana Barraza-Jiménez, Azael Martínez-De la Cruz, Leticia Saucedo-Mendiola, Sandra Iliana Torres-Herrera, Adolfo Padilla Mendiola, Elva Marcela Coria Quiñones, Raúl Armando Olvera Corral, María Estela Frías-Zepeda, Manuel Alberto Flores-Hidalgo, Paola R. Campodónico, Raffaello Papadakis, Ioanna Deligkiozi, Dan He, Zhengping Liu, Liyan Huang, Alwar Ramani, Suresh Iyer, Murugesan Muthu, Biswajit Sinha, Sanjoy Saha, Muhammad Saad Khan, Bhajan Lal, Ángeles Domínguez, Begoña González, Patricia F. Requejo, Sandra Corderí, Ronewa Padagi and Indra Bahadur.

Daniel Glossman-Mitnik wants to express his warmest thanks to his beloved wife Carmen and his dear sister Perla for their support during the preparation of this book and to the memories of my late parents, Sofía and Miguel. He also thanks the

**II**

**Chapter 8 143**

**Chapter 9 173**

Solvent Effects **185**

**Chapter 10 187**

**Chapter 11 207**

**Chapter 12 231**

Pre-Screening of Ionic Liquids as Gas Hydrate Inhibitor via Application of

Ionic Liquids as Environmental Benign Solvents for Cellulose Chemistry:

Solvent Effects on Dye Sensitizers Derived from Anthocyanidins for

Solvent Effect on a Model of SNAr Reaction in Conventional and

*by Diana Barraza-Jiménez, Azael Martínez-De la Cruz, Leticia Saucedo-Mendiola, Sandra Iliana Torres-Herrera, Adolfo Padilla Mendiola, Elva Marcela Coria Quiñones, Raúl Armando Olvera Corral, María Estela Frías-Zepeda* 

COSMO-RS for Methane Hydrate

A Review

**Section 3**

*by Muhammad Saad Khan and Bhajan Lal*

*by Indra Bahadur and Ronewa Phadagi*

Applications in Photocatalysis

*and Manuel Alberto Flores-Hidalgo*

Non-Conventional Solvents *by Paola R. Campodónico*

Solvent Effects in Supramolecular Systems *by Raffaello Papadakis and Ioanna Deligkiozi* financial support from the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), Mexico and the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), Palma de Mallorca, Spain, where part of this book has been edited.

> **Dr. Daniel Glossman-Mitnik** Laboratorio Virtual NANOCOSMOS, Departamento de Medio Ambiente y Energía, Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados, Chihuahua, Mexico

> > **Magdalena Maciejewska**

**1**

Section 1

Solvents

Lodz University of Technology, Poland

Section 1 Solvents

**IV**

financial support from the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), Mexico and the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), Palma de Mallorca, Spain, where

> **Dr. Daniel Glossman-Mitnik** Laboratorio Virtual NANOCOSMOS,

> > Chihuahua, Mexico

Poland

**Magdalena Maciejewska** Lodz University of Technology,

Departamento de Medio Ambiente y Energía, Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados,

part of this book has been edited.

**3**

**1. Introduction**

**Chapter 1**

**Abstract**

Bio-Solvents: Synthesis, Industrial

Solvents are at the heart of many research and industrial chemical processes and consumer product formulations, yet an overwhelming number are derived from fossils. This is despite societal and legislative push that more products be produced from carbon-neutral resources, so as to reduce our carbon footprint and environmental impact. Biomass is a promising renewable alternative resource for producing bio-solvents, and this review focuses on their extraction and synthesis on a laboratory and large scale. Starch, lignocellulose, plant oils, animal fats and proteins have been combined with creative synthetic pathways, novel technologies and processes to afford known or new bio-derived solvents including acids, alkanes, aromatics, ionic liquids (ILs), furans, esters, ethers, liquid polymers and deep eutectic solvents (DESs)—all with unique physiochemical properties that warrant their use as solvation agents in manufacturing, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, chemicals, energy, food and beverage industries, etc. Selected bio-solvents, conversion technologies and processes operating at commercial and demonstration scale including (1) Solvay's Augeo**™** SL 191 renewable solvent, (2) Circa Group's Furacell**™** technology and process for making levoglucosenone (LGO) to produce dihydrolevoglucosenone (marketed as Cyrene™), (3) Sappi's Xylex® technology and demonstration scale processes that aim to manufacture precursors for biosolvents and (4) Anellotech's Bio-TCat**™** technology and process for producing

**Keywords:** bio-solvents, renewable resources, green chemistry, biorefinery, biomass

Air quality deterioration, environmental, health and safety issues have raised serious concerns over continued processing of fossil-based feedstocks in producing chemical products such as fuels and solvents. As such, many efforts are being made to reduce the use of hazardous substances (particularly volatile organic solvents (VOCs)) and to eliminate or minimize waste generation in chemical processes. Switching from the currently widely used fossil-based solvents to greener ones derived from renewable resources constitutes a key strategy to drive sustainability as well as clean and safer chemical procedures in both industry and academia [1, 2]. Solvents are central to many chemical processes as they dissolve reagents and ensure sufficient interactions, at a molecular level, for chemical transformations to take place. For instance, the pharmaceutical industry is heavily reliant on solvents for

Production and Applications

*Novisi K. Oklu, Leah C. Matsinha*

benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTX) are highlighted.

*and Banothile C.E. Makhubela*
