Butanol Fuel from Biomass

Though the Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) process for butanol production was the second largest fermentation process in commercial operation till the 1960s, competition from petroleum-based butanol had led to closure of all the plants. Currently with the revived interest in biomass-based fuels, there is now a renewed interest in the production of butanol, especially as an alternative transportation fuel. Since the older processes for ABE fermentation are no longer feasible due to the economic considerations, improved fermentation strategies and organism development are being actively pursued. Focused R&D by several research groups worldwide had resulted in a wealth of information on the molecular biology of Clostridia that produce ABE and on several novel fermentation strategies for improving butanol yield, productivity, and overcoming solvent toxicity. Integrated processes with ABE removal and recovery along with fermentation have been developed and demonstrated at laboratory scales, and the technologies seem ready to be scaled and implemented. One of the major concerns is the feedstock for ABE fermentations and use of lignocellulosic biomass is projected as the future of ABE fermentation. Technologies need to be developed to realize this goal and also engineered organisms will have to play a major role in achieving this target. The recent advances made in the understanding of Clostridial ABE fermentation biochemistry, the molecular control of fermentation events are presented with directions on utilizing this knowledge for improving ABE fermentation. Also, the recent developments in fermentation technology that will play a pivotal role in the near future for production technologies are discussed.

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