TechPulse 360

Butanol is an alcohol-based fuel long thought to be a replacement for gasoline.

Its prospects just received a big boost. Scientists from Ohio State University reported a breakthrough that doubles the production of the biofuel and significantly lowers its price.

Ohio State researchers deveoped a process for doubling fermentation of butanol

While biolfuels have been slow to catch on in the United States, they hold promise in the fight against global warming. They do emit the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide when burned, but only the amount their source plant absorbed from the atmosphere. In that sense, they are more neutral than fossil fuels.

They come with another benefit. They could go a long way toward weaning the country from its oil addiction since they can be produced from crops such as sugar beets, sugar cane, corn and cassava – all renewable resources.

Today, butanol is typically made in a bacterial fermentation tank. (It also can be generated from oil.) The bacteria generally produce 15 grams of the chemical for every liter of water before the tank becomes too toxic for them to survive.

To sidestep this hurdle, the Ohio State researchers developed a mutant strain of bacteria (Clostridium beijerinckii) that can double the production to 30 grams.

The research, led by Shang-Tian Yang, a professor of chemical and bio-molecular engineering, was reported at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Yang believes the development can lower the cost of butane from today’s $3 a gallon price. “The recovery and purification of butanol accounts for about 40 percent of production costs,” he said.

Today, butanol is generally used as a solvent or in industrial processes. But it has several advantages as a gasoline replacement over other biofuels, such as ethanol.

First, it is less corrosive than ethanol, so could be distributed through the same pipelines and infrastructure as gasoline.

Second it has an octane rating similar to gasoline, suggesting that a motor might need little adjustment to burn it, and it better resists water contamination.

It’s impact on overall mileage is not yet known. But given the Ohio State research and the promise of a sub-$2-a-gallon cost, it is worth the effort to find out.