New butanol for biofuels research begins in US

An assistant professor at the Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences has launched a research project into improving butanol production from agricultural and woody biomass.

Maobing Tu believes his study will be a significant stride towards butanol production becoming economically viable across the board, while also providing new insights into the design and manufacture of technology.

‘Butanol is one of the promising advanced biofuels being pursued by industry for the next generation of alternative fuels,’ Tu was quoted as saying. ‘However, cost-effective production of butanol from lignocellulosic biomass is still challenging. In particular, hydrolysate inhibition limits butanol fermentation efficiency.’

The research has been supported by a five year $401,155 (€311,500) National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development award.

Both ethanol and butanol for biofuels can be derived from the same biomass but, although butanol is a closer match to petrol than ethanol, its production also releases liquefied toxins and is more difficult to produce overall.