Chromosome - Fapesp

S T
R AI
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M PROVE
M ENT
Clostridia & Biofuels
Butanol is a superior Biofuel to Ethanol
Three major factors * determine the economic competitiveness
of butanol production:
– low product yields versus solvent toxicity
• wasteful production of acetone, ethanol & hydrogen
• relative low resistance to butanol
– substrate costs
• sugar & starch – competition with food
• lignocellulose – solventogenic clostridia not cellulosic
– costs of downstream processing
• distillation expensive at current butanol yields
• gas stripping, pervaporation, adsorption
* Peter Dürre (2006) Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1125: p353 - 362