Grow-able Biofuel Just Like Gasoline
by James Buchanan
Of all the biofuels being discussed, a gasoline equivalent fuel called butanol sounds like the most practical breakthrough so far. A new production process that uses a bacteria to increase the amount of fuel per crop is the key. One website notes “ButylFuel, LLC’s patent changes everything. We are now able to produce yields of 2.5 gallons of butanol per bushel of corn. ButylFuel, LLC’s patented discovery and the economics did not exist to pursue Butanol versus Ethanol as a viable alternative to gasoline until now.”
Most biofuel work in the US has focused on diesel since this is the easiest to make. In one episode of the MythBusters, an old Mercedes diesel was successfully run on kitchen grease that was run through a paper filter. While it’s good to see kitchen grease being recycled into fuel, we need to replace millions of barrels of oil per day to meet our energy needs. A deliberate effort is needed to grow biofuel crops on a truly massive scale. (more…)