Butanol fuel

Butanol, 1-butanol

Biosynthetically ( biobutanol ) and biogenic

1- butanol ( hydrous )

96/78 (RON / MON)

11.1 ( mol / mol )

As Biobutanol ( C4H10O ) Butanol are called, which are produced from biomass, such as sugar, starch, straw or wood, recovered. Are cellulose- rich raw materials such as straw or wood used, one also speaks of cellulose -butanol. The term Biobutanol is a biogenic from the terms and butanol formed portmanteau word. Various isomers of butanol, such as 1-butanol and isobutanol, can be used as bio-fuel as an additive in fuels for gasoline engines, as a pure butanol or with other alcohols (for example ethanol). Butanol is compared with ethanol, a higher energy density and can be used in pure form in gasoline engines. The process for the biotechnological production of butanols is still in an early development phase. Your potential is, however, estimated size.

Production

Biobutanol can be produced by fermentation of plant, mostly previously processed biomass. The most important starting material is sugar (carbohydrate ), such as sucrose or starch. The best known case is the ABE process for the production of 1-butanol, in which the bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum is used. Chaim Weizmann was the first who used this bacterium in 1916 for the production of acetone and 1-butanol from starch. Butanol was there just a byproduct. Other by-products of this process are hydrogen, acetic acid, lactic acid, propionic acid, isopropanol, and ethanol. Currently, however, there are also a number of other microorganisms (eg, genetically modified yeast, Escherichia coli, ...) in the development, which can easily and cost-effectively produce 1-butanol. The difference for ethanol production is primarily in the fermentation, while the distillation is very similar. According to DuPont, existing bioethanol plants can be relatively easily converted to biobutanol production.

Isobutanol and is a by- product, such as in the metabolism of yeast, where it is formed in small quantities during the degradation of the amino acid valine.

Both the small amounts or proportions of biobutanol produced by clostridia and yeasts are usually not sufficient for large-scale fuel production. By optimizing the metabolic processes and / or by genetic modification of certain microorganisms, the yield could be increased significantly.