Butanol

Butanol (butyl alcohol) is a 4-carbon primary alcohol within the same family as ethanol, methanol and propanol. It is primarily used as an industrial solvent and chemical intermediary in various industrial industries to make thousands of consumer products. The United States accounts for approximately two-thirds of the global market for butanol, estimated at approximately 370 million gallons per year and growing. In the industrial market, butanol currently commands between five to six dollars a gallon.

In recent years, butanol has been garnering much attention within the scientific and environmental community as a potential alternative fuel. Butanol's properties share a closer similarity to gasoline than other biofuels, such as ethanol or methanol. It has a higher energy density, lower evaporative emissions, is far less corrosive and can be shipped through existing petroleum pipelines; meaning it can be integrated seamlessly into the existing petroleum infrastructure.

Currently, virtually all commercially available butanol is produced from fossil fuels. However, advances in technology have now made it possible to produce 'bio-butanol' from a number of different methods using more sustainable resources such as biomass and MSW.

Fossil Fuels: Petrochemical Process
Since the 1950's, most butanol in the United States has been manufactured from petroleum. This process begins with propene, which is run through a hydroformylation reaction and reduced with hydrogen to produce a mixture of approximately 88% butanol and 12% isobutanol.

Fermentation: Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) Process
Prior to the rise in petroleum derived butanol, 'bio-butanol' was commercially produced by fermentation of biomass and sugar-type feedstocks. Known as 'ABE,' the process used clostridium strains of bacteria to produce a roughly 6:3:1 ratio of Butanol, Acetone and Ethanol.

Biomass: Thermo-chemical Process
Syntec is currently developing catalysts to produce bio-butanol from a range of waste biomass, including MSW, agricultural and forestry wastes. Thermochemical bio-butanol production offers a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alterative to many major industries, without compromising the quality of the products they produce.