Biobutanol

Abstract

China initiated its acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) industry in the 1950s; it peaked in the 1980s, and ended at the end of the last century owing to the development of more competitive petrochemical pathways. However, driven by the high price of crude oil and environmental concerns raised by the over-consumption of petrochemical products, biofuels and bio-based chemicals including butanol have garnered global attention again. Currently, butanol produced from ABE fermentation is mainly used as an industrial solvent or a platform chemical for several bulk derivatives, and is also believed to be a potential biofuel. A number of plants have been built or rebuilt in recent years in China for butanol production with the ABE process. Chinese researchers also show great interest in the improvement of the production strains and corresponding processes. They have applied conventional mutagenesis methods to improve butanol-producing strains such as the Clostridium acetobutylicum mutant strains EA2018 (butanol ratio of 70%) and Rh8 (butanol tolerance of 19 g/L). The omics technologies, such as genome sequencing, proteomic and transcriptomic analysis, have been adapted to elucidate the characteristics of different butanol-producing bacteria. Based on the group II intron method, the genetic manipulation system of C. acetobutylicum was greatly improved, and some successful engineering strains were developed. In addition, research in China also covers the downstream processes. This article reviews up-to-date progress on biobutanol production in China.

Toward a sustainable biorefinery using high‐gravity technology

“…8 Butanol is another biofuel that can be produced from lignocellulosic feedstocks by means of fermentation. 9,10 Th e production of butanol and associated solvents used to be the second-largest industrial fermentation process. For instance, in China the production of acetone, butanol, and ethanol via the so-called acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation process reached a peak in the 1980s, but declined and fi nally disappeared in the 1990s.…”

“…For instance, in China the production of acetone, butanol, and ethanol via the so-called acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation process reached a peak in the 1980s, but declined and fi nally disappeared in the 1990s. 9 Due to the high cost of crude oil, as well as China's increasing energy consumption, butanol production by fermentation has gained renewed interest, and a number of plants have been rebuilt and constructed in recent years with a total expected annual production capacity of about 1 million tonnes. 9 Th e development of a butanol production process at high gravity can be justifi ed with the same arguments as given in the case of ethanol, although strong product inhibition of microbial action will limit the butanol concentration that can be achieved.…”

“…9 Due to the high cost of crude oil, as well as China's increasing energy consumption, butanol production by fermentation has gained renewed interest, and a number of plants have been rebuilt and constructed in recent years with a total expected annual production capacity of about 1 million tonnes. 9 Th e development of a butanol production process at high gravity can be justifi ed with the same arguments as given in the case of ethanol, although strong product inhibition of microbial action will limit the butanol concentration that can be achieved. However, in a production system with continuous product removal and fermentation, the use of high-gravity conditions will be of benefi t in order to achieve high sugar utilization.…”

Solvents Production from a Mixture of Glucose and Xylose by Mixed Fermentation of Clostridium acetobutylicum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae

“…Third, butanol can be blended with gasoline at any ratio without modification of engines [6,7]. Compared with bioethanol and biodiesel, biobutanol can be produced from wider material sources [8]. Clostridium acetobutylicum, an important solvents-producing organism, is capable of metabolizing a variety of carbohydrates [9].…”

Third-generation feed stocks for the clean and sustainable biotechnological production of bulk chemicals: synthesis of 2-hydroxyisobutyric acid

“…Of those, bioethanol [8][9][10][11] is a recent example of modern fuels for motor vehicles [12], while biobutanol is expected to be another one [13,14]. Based on this knowledge of how to produce bulk-scale energy carriers, recent intentions envisage the extension of platform chemicals for wider applications [13,[15][16][17][18].…”