Posted on 05/15/2008 12:05:08 PM PDT by gleeaikin
ping
For those wondering about how it can be made, check the link on Comment 7. Also ethanol has 85K BTU, versus 110K for butanol and 115K for gasoline, so it is a lot closer to gasoline in energy availability.
Butanol is far less volatile than either gasoline or ethanol, which makes it a lot safer, and presumable would reduce the smell factor. This also enables it to be pipelined unlike ethanol.
Regarding algae. Algae is still in early developmental stages, whereas there is a 50 plus year history on butanol. It is far closer to being commercially ready, which no doubt is why DuPont and BP are interested.
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