EPA OKs Gevo's isobutanol as fuel

In Colorado, Gevo announced today that it received notification that its isobutanol had successfully cleared registration with the U.S. EPA as a fuel additive. Gevo’s isobutanol is the first isobutanol to be listed in the EPA’s Fuel Registration Directory and is now approved for blending with gasoline.  “We’ve taken another important step in commercializing our product in the near term, said Gevo CEO Dr. Patrick Gruber. “Along with the chemicals market, selling isobutanol as a low Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) biofuel blendstock is one of our most important opportunities.”

The isobutanol can be used directly as a specialty chemical, as a gasoline and jet fuel blendstock, and through conversion into plastics, fibers, rubber and other polymers. Gevo will soon begin the retrofit of its first 22 million gallons per year (MPGY) ethanol facility in Luverne, MN to produce 18 MGPY of isobutanol. The Company plans to expand its isobutanol production via the retrofit of additional ethanol facilities over the next few years. In the future, Gevo intends to produce cellulosic isobutanol once biomass conversion technology is commercially available.

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