GC: n
CT: Butanol is a four-carbon alcohol. Alcohols also include methanol (1-carbon), ethanol (2-carbon) and propanol (3-carbon). Butanol is used primarily as an industrial solvent. The worldwide market is about 350 million gallons per year with the U.S. market accounting for about 220 million gallons per year. Butanol currently sells for about $3.70 per gallon in bulk (barge).
S: REW – https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/2006/09/12/why-isnt-butanol-more-prevalent-45946/#gref (last access: 13 January 2020)
N: 1. From “butane”, paraffin hydrocarbon, 1875, from butyl, hydrocarbon from butyric acid, a product of fermentation found in rancid butter, from Latin butyrum + chemical suffix “-ane”; and “-ol”, word-forming element in chemistry, variously representing alcohol, phenol, or in some cases Latin oleum “oil”.
2. Any one of the four isomeric alcohols having the formula C4H9OH and molecular weight 74.12.
3. The butanols are colorless, toxic, flammable materials which are soluble in most organic liquids; their solubilities in water depend upon their respective structures.
4. Butanol, like ethanol, can be produced from fermentable sugars, synthesis gas, and glycerol. Butanol has a number of notable qualities that make it a suitable alternative fuel. Its energy content is 30% more than ethanol (Qureshi and Ezeji, 2008). It can be mixed with gasoline in any proportion or be used as the sole fuel component (100% butanol) in unmodified car engines (Ramey, 2007). It carries less water and, therefore, it can be transported through existing gasoline pipelines (Dürre, 2007). Reports of biological butanol formation date back to Louis Pasteur. He reported an alcohol product from a clostridial culture (Dürre, 2007). The ABE fermentation was essential during World War I. Acetone was needed to prepare munitions, and it was in great shortage at the time.
5. Butanol is another important compound produced by microorganisms that can be utilized as a fuel or fuel component. Because of the length of butanol’s chain, it is easier to mix with higher hydrocarbons, including gasoline. Additionally, it has another advantage with respect to ethanol that butanol is substantially less corrosive and volatile and also has lower water solubility. Among the four isomers of butanol (n-butanol (butan-1-ol), sec-butanol (butan-2-ol), isobutanol (2-methylpropan-1-ol), and tert-butanol (2-methylpropan-2-ol)), only n-butanol, sec-butanol, and isobutanol are produced by microbes. Although tert-butanol is only received in refinery, others can be obtained through microbial fermentation. Only some of the strains are reported to ferment biomass to butanol, and yeast is not capable of producing butanol.
S: 1. OED – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=butane&ref=searchbar_searchhint; https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=-ol (last access: 13 January 2020). 2 & 3. TERMIUM PLUS – https://bit.ly/2QAJiZF (last access: 13 January 2020). 4 & 5. SD – https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/butanol (last access: 13 January 2020).
SYN:
S:
CR: isobutanol , fermentation
