DuPont plans to bring biobutanol for transport fuel use to UK market in 2007
Fri 23 February 2007
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DuPont, the world's second largest chemicals company, has announced plans to introduce limited quantities of biobutanol fuel into the UK market later this year. Biobutanol is similar to ethanol and is viewed as having sevaral advantages over ethanol as a transport fuel.
For example, biobutanol can be transported through the same pipelines as gasoline, whereas ethanol is, typically, transported by rail and blended at storage or distribution facilities. Biobutanol can also be made using plant leaves and stalks, rather than just corn kernels, thus significantly increasing the fuel produced per acre.
DuPont's chief executive said that by 2010 the company hopes to produce biobutanol as cost-effectively as ethanol.
BP and DuPont have been working together since 2003 to develop advanced biofuels with properties that they say can help overcome the limitations of existing biofuels (see adjacent link to earlier story on LowCVP website). According to BP, that work has now progressed to the point where they are able to bring the first jointly developed product to market.
DuPont and BP are in the process of developing ways to produce biobutanol quicker and more efficiently, an effort DuPont expect to be realised by 2010.
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