Engineering360: "Don’t Drink This: Beer Becomes Fuel"

This is finally beginning to show some common sense. Butanol could have been chosen much earlier as a previous byproduct of the ABE fermentation, then optimized...

The ABE process: The ABE process (was used to make cordite)

The former process was low yield of butanol, and was mainly for the production of acetone to make cordite for ammunition production in WWI.

The new pathway using only ethanol and methanol seems attractive, but we need better biochemical synthesis of methanol as feed-stock, rather than from methane.

Butanol has much more acceptable environmental fate than methanol or ethanol if a large spill occurs. It separates well from water above a given percentage level... really does not require distillation during production if the yield is high enough.

Win-win-win.

However, the Ru catalyst has got to be pretty pricey. A lot would depend on how reusable the catalyst is.

Tiny secret: I suspect by surface modifications (nanoscopic), iron may eventually supplant the ruthenium in this, as I understand it, only a small amount is needed for activity at any rate.

Another key point, the ruthenium could or should be removed by decanting the product butanol from the reactor. I suspect the ruthenium loss would be measured in ppm relative to the charge of catalyst.