This tutorial review highlights representative examples of ionic liquid (IL)-based (bio)catalytic systems integrating reaction and separation, as a tool for the development of sustainable chemical processes (e.g.IL/scCO₂biphasic reactors, membrane reactors, nanodrop systems, microfluidic devices, supported IL phases, sponge-like ILs,etc.).

Recent advancements in IL-based functional polymers, with particular focus on their applications in separation, energy storage, fire resistance, recycling, and biomedicine are highlighted.

Direct biocatalytic processes for CO₂ capture and transformation in value-added chemicals may be considered a useful tool for reducing the concentration of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Among the other enzymes, carbonic anhydrase (CA) and formate dehydrogenase (FDH) are two key biocatalysts suitable for this challenge, facilitating the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in complementary ways. Carbonic anhydrases accelerate CO₂ uptake by promoting its solubility in water in the form of hydrogen carbonate as the first step in converting the gas into a species widely used in carbon capture storage and its utilization processes (CCSU), particularly in carbonation and mineralization methods. On the other hand, formate dehydrogenases represent the biocatalytic machinery evolved by certain organisms to convert CO₂ into enriched, reduced, and easily transportable hydrogen species, such as formic acid, via enzymatic cascade systems that obtain energy from chemical species, electrochemical sources, or light. Formic acid is the basis for fixing C₁-carbon species to other, more reduced molecules. In this review, the state-of-the-art of both methods of CO₂ uptake is assessed, highlighting the biotechnological approaches that have been developed using both enzymes.

The enzymatic synthesis of six panthenyl monoacyl esters (PMEs) was carried out by the direct esterification of fatty acids (i.e. capric, lauric, myristic, palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids, respectively) with panthenol in different ionic liquids (ILs) based on cations with a long alkyl side-chain (e.g. 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [C₁₂mim][BF₄], etc.). All the assayed ILs were seen to be suitable reaction media for Novozym 435-catalyzed synthesis of PMEs (i.e. up to 90% conversion and 100% selectivity), enabling easy recovery and the reuse of both biocatalyst and IL. Alternatively, mixtures of panthenol with free fatty acids were seen to act as deep eutectic solvents (DESs), that were excellent reaction media for the biocatalytic synthesis of PMEs (i.e. up to 83% conversion and 98% selectivity in the case of the panthenyl monolaurate), the enzymatic activity remaining unchanged for seven consecutive cycles of reuse. The enzymatic synthesis of PMEs by direct esterification using the DES approach can be considered as a clean and useful process for the sustainable industrial scaling up of panthenyl acyl ester production.

This study introduces a novel and sustainable approach using Ionic Liquids (ILs) as a non‐innocent solvent that enhances the performance of the basic catalysts to depolymerize polyurethane foam wastes (PUFWs) through hydrolysis, alcoholysis or aminolysis under mild conditions. The system is stable, fully recoverable, and reusable. Hydrolysis of PUFWs can occur in just 2 minutes at 95–98 °C, producing a white polyol that is easily separated and reused in new polyurethane synthesis. The method was successfully scaled up to depolymerize 200 g of PUFW per batch (1 kg overall depolymerization system). This scalability, combined with the medium‘s reusability without loss of effectiveness, highlights its strong potential for industrial applications.