Biobutanol and Ethanol Could Work Well Together

The Dupont Web site has some promising things to say about biobutanol. It could be made from the same feedstock as ethanol and it can be mixed with ethanol and gasoline. Most importantly, a 10% ethanol blend generally needs additives to lower vapor pressure in some seasons. Apparently, mixing in biobutanol might be a way to do this while adding to the renewable biofuel component of the fuel. Biobutanol, they say, can also be shipped in gasoline pipelines, decreasing transportation costs. It also has a higher energy density than ethanol, so the cut in fuel economy should be less. Looks promising.-- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
BP DuPont BioFuels: Biobutanol Fact Sheet:
"Biobutanol is produced from the same agricultural feedstocks as ethanol (i.e. corn, wheat, sugar beet, sorghum, cassava and sugarcane).
Existing ethanol capacity can be cost-effectively retrofitted to biobutanol production (minor changes in fermentation and distillation).
There is a vapor pressure co-blend synergy with biobutanol and gasoline containing ethanol, which facilitates ethanol blending."