Biofuels Journal 3Q_11 : Page 65
,VREXWDQRO%HQHILWV Gevo White Paper Touts Isobutanol As A Viable Option A white paper produced by Gevo® Inc., Englewood, CO (303-858-8358), touts isobutanol as a viable option for UHÀQHUVZKRZDQWWRXVHLWDVDWUDQV -portation biofuel or as a feedstock for drop-in renewable chemicals. “We wanted to educate people about isobutanol and why using it makes sense, especially in the biofuels space,” said Christopher Ryan, Gevo’s president and FKLHI RSHUDWLQJRIÀFHU Ryan co-authored the white paper which, he said, was written for petroleum UHÀQHUV “They are our target market,” Ryan said in July. “What’s unique about iso-butanol is that it can bridge the gap between biofuels and the petroleum UHÀQLQJLQGXVWU\µ Gevo plans to have approximately 110 million gallons a year (MMGY) of isobutanol capacity online in 2013. 3ODQW5HWURÀWV Gevo has developed and patented its Gevo Integrated Fermentation Technology® (GIFT), which converts fermentable sugars from sustainable feedstocks into isobutanol. *HYR EHJDQ UHWURÀWWLQJ DQ HWKDQRO plant in Luverne, MN, in May and is expected to begin producing isobutanol IURPFRUQLQWKHÀUVWKDOI RI   In June, Gevo entered into a joint YHQWXUHZLWK5HGÀHOG(QHUJ\�f;//&RI  5HGÀHOG�f;6'�f;WRUHWURÀW5HGÀHOG·VH[LVW -ing ethanol plant for commercial pro-duction of isobutanol that is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2012. Gevo also plans to work with South Hampton Resources Inc., a subsidiary of $UDELDQ$PHULFDQ'HYHORSPHQW&R�f;WR build a hydrocarbon processing demon-stration plant in Silsbee, TX, where it is expected to process up to 10,000 gallons of isobutanol a month into a variety of renewable hydrocarbon materials. The demonstration plant is scheduled WREHÀQLVKHGEHIRUHWKHHQGRI   “We have a growing list of potential customers and end-users interested in renewable hydrocarbons for a variety of market applications from jet fuel to renewable polyethylene terephthalate (PET),” Ryan said when the agreement was announced July 26. “This plant should allow us to supply early adopters with [isobutanol] so they can test our material, make samples, and start their selling cycle. We also expect to gain criti-cal technical and market insights.” 7DONV:LWK5HÀQHUV gasoline or it can be used as another LQSXWDWWKHUHÀQHU\OLNHRLOµ ,VREXWDQRO$GYDQWDJHV Gevo has talked with more than three-quarters of the refiners in the United States, stated Ryan. “Now, it just comes down to making enough isobutanol to enter the market-place,” he said. The white paper explained that isobu-tanol is much more than an alternative fuel to ethanol. “It has a lot of versatility in the fuels PDUNHWDVDIHHGVWRFNIRUDUHÀQHU�f;µ5\DQ said. “Isobutanol can be blended with Ryan stated that isobutanol has advantages because a 12.5% blend of isobutanol and 87.5% gasoline is “sub-stantially similar to gasoline,” a term used by the Environmental Protection Agency that means it’s compatible with the existing fuel infrastructure. Isobutanol also can be converted to MHWIXHORUWRRWKHUFKHPLFDOVVRUHÀQ -ers can produce a variety of products from it. Synthetic rubber is just one example of an alternative product that can be processed from isobutanol, Ryan said. The white paper was co-authored by 'DYH 0XQ]�f; *HYR EXVLQHVV GHYHORS -ment manager, transportation fuels; and petroleum industry consultant Gary Bevers, Houston, TX. Jerry Perkins, editor 7KLUG4XDUWHU_%)- 65
Isobutanol Benefits
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