More Fuel Plants Are Eyeing Isobutanol
by David Shaffer (Star Tribune) Four more ethanol plants are considering retrofits to produce the new biofuel, bringing planned conversions to seven.
A third Minnesota ethanol plant is considering a shift in production to a new biofuel called isobutanol.
Butamax Advanced Biofuels, a Wilmington, Del.-based joint venture that is competing to commercialize the technology, said Monday that it’s signed up four more ethanol plants for potential retrofits to make the fuel. Others are in Iowa and Nebraska.
…The final product can be mixed with gasoline as a motor fuel or be used to make chemical products and plastics and is being tested as a jet fuel.
The announcement comes at a time of financial challenge and overcapacity in the ethanol industry. READ MORE



