IS BIOBUTANOL THE BIOFUEL? NOT YET.

The latest revelation of how unwise it is to depend on AGROfuels as transport fuel sources: Midwest floods are threatening corn crops, making corn even more valuable as food and feed, adding yet further upward pressure on prices.(See Weather Risks Cloud Promise of Biofuel)

The problems with corn ethanol and other AGROfuels invite the obvious question: What is a better biofuel? Many argue in favor of Brazil’s sugar cane ethanol. Far better than corn ethanol, sugar cane ethanol is still an AGROfuel and therefore still puts upward pressure on food prices.

There is a large impetus behind 2nd-generation nonfood biofuels crops like switchgrass and jatropha. Indigenous weeds and grasses that grow on land not used for farming, and with relatively little water and no fertilizer requirements, these sources have many advantages over AGROfuels but also have drawbacks. They cannot yet be refined economically and they cannot be refined into many of the most important things petroleum is used for so they are, like AGROfuels, an imperfect substitute.

NewEnergyNews has written many times about the promise of algae. (See BIOFUELS: THE ALGAE GENERATION and HAWAIIAN MARINE ALGAE)

Biobutanol is the hope in which DuPont and BP are investing. Advantages over corn ethanol: Higher energy content, better for car engines, mixes better with gasoline, transports in existing pipelines, potentially derived from any cellulose. Disadvantages: More expensive to make, derived at present from wheat, making it just another AGROfuel.

Why these industrial giants are bothering with biobutanol when it is at best an inadequate improvement on the scam of corn ethanol remains something of a mystery. Maybe DuPont has a vested interest in playing at chemistry. Maybe BP likes the idea of staying with a “solution” that can’t really end petroleum dependence.

The Problem With Biobutanol, a thorough essay from the brilliant Robert Rapier, concludes that, though superior to corn ethanol, biobutanol’s inefficient, energy-wasting fermentation process makes it at least 10 years from being a useful fuel source.

Biobutanol fermentation gives a number of byproducts, decisively diminishing efficiency. From Robert Rapier - click to enlarge)

Betting on a Biofuel; Biobutanol has several advantages over ethanol. And one big disadvantage.
Ana Campoy, June 30, 2008 (Wall Street Journal)

WHO
DuPont Co. (John Ranieri, vice president of biofuels); BP PLC (Phil New, biofuel unit president)

WHAT
Biobutanol might eventually be an improvement on corn ethanol as a biofuel.

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WHEN
- BP and DuPont are presently building a pilot plant and a commercial plant with hopes to begin commercial production in 2012.
- The concept of biobutanol has been known for decades but fermentation is too slow and inefficient a process.
- Since 2004, experimentation has focused on substituting bacteria for yeasts to speed and streamline the process.
- BP and DuPont are testing for nonfood-derived versions and testing the present version simultaneously to reach the production stage more quickly.

WHERE
- The pilot and commercial plants now being built are in Hull, on England’s east coast.
- Other companies working in biobutanol: Gevo Inc. (Englewood, Colo), Green Biologics Ltd. (UK)

WHY
- Biobutanol was originally derived by fermenting molasses with yeast.
- New bacterial fermentation is said to increase yields at reduced costs. The biobutanol produced can be up to 16% of the gas-butanol mix without harming auto engines. Corn ethanol can go to only 10%.
- Biobutanol has 26% more energy/gallon than corn ethanol.
- Biobutanol does not absorb water like corn ethanol and can therefore be transported in existing petroleum pipelines.
- Preliminary evaluations suggest biobutanol is $1.75 to $2.00 more per gallon to make than corn ethanol.
- The Hull pilot plant will produce 5,000 gallons of butanol/year. The commercial plant will produce 110 million gallons/year.

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QUOTES
- John Ranieri, vice president of biofuels, DuPont: "The challenge is how can we make this move faster…"
- Phil New, biofuel unit president, BP: "[So far biobutanol is] living up to its promise…One of the great strengths of butanol is you can make it from any form of sugar…"
- Robert Rapier, R-Squared Energy Blog: “Sad to say, but biobutanol is not remotely at the level the hype implies. While research will (and should) continue, the process is currently at least 10 years from any sort of commercial feasibility.”