Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
(55%) and water (45%), which is used to minimize the energy required for dis-
tillation. These processes utilize OSU's proprietary fibrous-bed bioreactor (FBB)
that has demonstrated improvements in long-term production with a scalable pack-
ing design. The packing consisted of a spiral-wound, fibrous matrix that allows
for a high surface area with large enough voids to allow for a high cell density.
Immobilizing the cells in the FBB minimizes the energy consumption required by
the cells [33].
British Petroleum (BP) has partnered with DuPont to commercialize biobu-
tanol using advanced metabolic pathways for 1-butanol. They have announced
plans to produce 30,000 tons per year of biobutanol at the British Sugar facility
in Wissington, UK. This will help meet the United Kingdom
s Renewable Fuels
Obligation set for 2010. Along with 1-butanol, they plan on developing biocatalysts
to produce higher octane isomers such as 2-butanol and iso-butanol, and to increase
the interest and utility as a fuels additive or substitute [38]. BP and Dupont plan on
initially marketing biobutanol to the current market as an industrial solvent and then
implement a larger commercialization into fuel blending by 2010 [38].
A different approach to producing butanol utilizes a thermochemical route for the
gasification of biomass by a syngas catalyst. W2 Energy Inc. is working to produce
biobutanol from a Gliding Arc Tornado plasma reactor (GAT) for biomass gasifica-
tion. The GAT is a non-thermal plasma system, which utilizes reverse vortex flow
that allows for a larger gas residence time and ensures a more uniform gas treat-
ment. An advantage to the GAT system is that because of the thermal insulation, it
does not require high-temperature material, thus reducing costs [39]. The gasifica-
tion of biomass is accomplished by the solid biomass undergoing a thermochemical
reaction under sub-stoichiometric conditions with an oxidizing fuel. The biomass's
energy is released in the form of CO, CH
4
,H
2
, and other combustible gases (syn-
gas) [40]. The syngas consists of basic elementary components, which can be made
into butanol using various petrochemical techniques. Other advances in gasifica-
tion technology have been made by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's
(NREL) Battelle Labs.
3.3 Summary
Biobutanol is a renewable, biodegradable, alternative fuel, which can be used neat
or blended with gasoline. Properties such as energy density, octane value, and Reid
vapor pressure (RVP) are similar to gasoline; hence current vehicles can use biobu-
tanol without any engine modifications. Biobutanol can be produced from biomass
by the fermentation of sugars and starches or by thermochemical routes using gasi-
fication. The emergence of butanol as a fuel is growing with companies such as BP,
DuPont, EEI, Tetravitae Bioscience, and W2 Energy Inc. investing in new technol-
ogy as well as in manufacturing. Worldwide commercialization of biobutanol can
replace or enhance blends of gasoline to reduce the dependence on petroleum as
well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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