A new carbon-negative bio-butanol production technology uses cellulose as its feedstock.
ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute), Taiwan’s largest and a leading international high-tech applied research institution, recently introduced ButyFix, reportedly the first biochemical technology for bio-butanol transportation fuel production with a negative carbon footprint. The technology uses nature’s most abundant biomass—cellulose—as its feedstock, rather than corn. The total energy content in the lignin-rich biomass has the surplus to cover not only the energy for production, but also for the entire lifecycle of the fuel (well-to-wheel). As a result, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of the bio-butanol is slightly negative, which is thus very positive for the environment. ButyFix is available for licensing to biofuel and chemical processing organizations.
ButyFix technology can produce bio-butanol with GHG emission reduction of over 100%, much higher than the currently available corn ethanol with a GHG reduction of approximately 23%. If the U.S. replaced corn ethanol with ButyFix butanol based on today’s ethanol consumption of 13 billion gal, it could reportedly further reduce CO2 emissions in the U.S. by 90 million tons a year. Furthermore, butanol produced using ButyFix is the only biofuel that can achieve a transportation-fuel price of $2/gal—well below the current price of gasoline and bio-ethanol—and it requires no government subsidies.