What is Butanol?
Butanol is a flammable liquid that is used as a fuel and as an industrial solvent. Like gasoline, it is a hydrocarbon, meaning that it is composed of the chemical elements hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. Most internal combustion engines can burn butanol without experiencing problems, especially more modern engines. This fact has led to research into the use of butanol as a fuel additive and as an alternative fuel. The interest in butanol as an alternative fuel stems in large part from the fact that it has certain significant advantages over ethanol. For instance, an engine which runs on butanol will have an easier time starting in cold temperatures than one which uses ethanol. This is because of a chemical property called heat of vaporization. Fuel must be vaporized before it can be burned in an engine, and butanol can be vaporized more easily at low temperatures than ethanol. Butanol is also much less evaporative than either gasoline or ethanol, and releases more energy than ethanol whe
This alternative fuel is going to get a lot more attention soon as new technologies make it easier to produce from renewable sources. Willie Vogt, Editorial Director Butanol. It’s a word you’re going to hear more about in the next couple of years. Sometimes you might hear the word biobutanol, but butanol will be there. This butyl alcohol product has been used in solvents and other products for years, but it can also be a fuel source. And the good news is, it can be made from renewable sources – hence the term biobutanol used by some. DuPont and British Petroleum are working on the alternative fuel as a potential alternative in a market that’s awash in ethanol. Other players are entering the fray as well with the announcement recently that Gevo, a Pasadena, Calif., based firm had acquired new technology from UCLA to help make the biofuel. The alternative fuel can be used in concentrations up to 85% by some estimates, in current car engines with no modifications. Butanol may also be “pip
Butanol is a four carbon alcohol. It has double the amount of carbon of ethanol, which equates to a 25 percent increase in harvestable energy (Btu’s). Butanol is produced by fermentation, from corn, grass, leaves, agricultural waste and other biomass. Butanol is safer to handle with a Reid Value of 0.33 psi, which is a measure of a fluid’s rate of evaporation when compared to gasoline at 4.5 and ethanol at 2.0 psi. Butanol is an alcohol that can be but does not have to be blended with fossil fuels. Butanol when consumed in an internal combustion engine yields no SOX, NOX or carbon monoxide all environmentally harmful byproducts of combustion. CO2 is the combustion byproduct of butanol, and is considered environmentally ‘green’. Butanol is far less corrosive than ethanol and can be shipped and distributed through existing pipelines and filling stations. Butanol solves the safety problems associated with the infrastructure of the hydrogen supply. Reformed butanol has four more hydrogen a
