Biobutanol has a great deal of potential as one of the main biofuel sources and energy sources for the future. With all of the stress that burning fossil fuels has placed on the planet, using alternative renewable biofuels and energy sources that are environmentally friendly and do not add to the stress put on the earth is a smart and responsible thing to do. Vehicles can be modified to burn biobutanol quickly, and sometimes no modification is even necessary. The infrastructure that would be needed for widespread commercial availability of this biofuel, such as processing plants and pipelines for transport, are already available and being used for fossil fuels and gas. This infrastructure can easily be converted for the production of biobutanol instead of fossil fuels simply and easily.

What is biobutanol, and can it replace gasoline? Biobutanol is a biofuel that is produced from biomass, and it can be used as a substitute for gasoline in an internal combustion engine. Biobutanol has a long hydrocarbon chain, is fairly non-polar, and is a better fuel substitute for gasoline than ethanol. In some vehicles, gasoline can be replaced with biobutanol without any modifications to the engine.

Biobutanol is also called B-100 and in most cases, it can directly replace gasoline without any adverse effects. Scientists have stated that any vehicle that can use a 10 percent ethanol blend should be able to use biobutanol without any problems.

This fuel has many advantages and very few disadvantages. It is clean burning comparing to gasoline, produces significantly less harmful emissions, and it has a higher octane rating. It also has a higher energy content than ethanol and can be shipped along existing pipelines, something that is not able to be done with ethanol. A higher flash point makes biobutanol much safer and less explosive than ethanol, which is just another plus. This biofuel can also be made at the same plants where gasoline is produced currently without needing to make expensive conversions. Fuel and mileage tests have shown that biobutanol gives your vehicle better miles to the gallon than gasoline or ethanol, and it will mix with gasoline without any of the high costs associated with ethanol.

Another benefit of biobutanol is that it is not as corrosive as ethanol, which means better engine maintenance and fewer repairs needed due to corrosion of engine parts. This fuel also evaporates slower than gasoline or ethanol, thus it will last longer in storage. Biobutanol made from biomass will reduce hydrocarbon emissions, which are responsible for the smog that can be seen over many crowded areas in California, such as Los Angeles, by as much as 95 percent, which would lead to much cleaner air. Biobutanol is made from biomass, which would mean less waste to end up in landfills. In addition, this fuel blends better with other fuels than ethanol, and the process of separating this biofuel from water requires less labor and energy than separating other types of fuel from water.
Biobutanol is the perfect biofuel to replace gasoline for many reasons. One of the biggest reasons of all is the fact that biobutanol can be a direct substitute for gasoline without any conversions or modifications to a vehicle engine, which means that this biofuel would be much less expensive to switch to than many others. All of the benefits biofuels provide are present with biobutanol, but, in addition, this fuel is far more efficient than ethanol and can be used either alone as a direct replacement for gasoline or mixed with traditional gasoline to produce less emissions, smog-producing gases and particulates.

One Response to “Biobutanol: Is this the biomass fuel we will be seeing at the gas stations?”

1. 1
   Michael B. Says:
   

   Great blog! I really love how it’s easy on my eyes and also the data are well written. I am wondering how I could be notified whenever a new post has been made. I have subscribed to your rss feed which ought to do the trick! Have a nice day!

   August 18th, 2010 at 1:54 am

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