University of Bristol researchers make butanol breathrough

April 16, 2013 |

In Louisiana, scientists at the University of Bristol in the U.K. reported a discovery that could speed an emerging effort to replace ethanol in gasoline with a substantially better fuel additive called butanol, which some experts regard as “the gasoline of the future.” Their report on this discovery, which holds potential to reduce the costs of converting ethanol factories to production of butanol, came at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society. Duncan Wass explained that ethanol has become a leading biofuel — millions of gallons added to gasoline around the country each year — despite several disadvantages. Ethanol, for instance, has a lower energy content per gallon than gasoline, which can reduce fuel mileage. Ethanol also has a corrosive effect on car engines and can’t easily be used in amounts higher than 10-15 percent.

Category: Research

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