The discovery and advances of genetically adapted microorganisms, has set the phase for bio butanol to surpass ethanol as a renewable fuel. Bio butanol displays great potential as a motor fuel owing to the following: favorable energy density, returns better fuel economy and is regarded superior motor fuel (when equated to ethanol). Is it possible for bio butanol to replace petro as motor fuel in the future?
Since petroleum prices are increasing steadily and worldwide supplies getting tighter , scientists have intensified research on the fermentation of sugars for biobutanol production. With ongoing research to perfect biobutanol as motor fuel I think there is a future prospect for biobutanol taking over
The net heat of combustion of butanol (i-butanol & n-butanol) is in the range of 95000 to 93000 BTU/gal where as of ethanol is 80000 BTU/gal. Butanol has been blended with gasoline upto 85% and has been successfully run on IC engines without any modifications.
The major advantage we have of using butanol as fuel in the place of ethanol is that this alcohol is hydrophobic where as ethanol is vulnerable to contamination with water.
Existing ethanol plants can easily adopt bio-butanol production with the existing technologies and unit operations.
There are also non acetone producing bacterial strains available to reduced investments in distillation units enabling efficient butanol recovery from the fermented liquor.
From engine engineering perspective, most likely yes, as there are no known major problems.
From a "global" perspective, I seriously doubt that there is any fuel which can be produced in a sustainable manner, with reasonable negative side effects, at a reasonably affordable cost, and in a sufficient quantity to replace our current consumption of gasoline/petrol.
My opinion therefore is that butanol will become one of the viable replacements for petrol.
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