In a process known as ABE furmentation (acetone, butanol, ethanol), butanol is produced from biomass carbohydrates via fermentation using the bacteria strain Clostridium acetobutylicum.  The process involves the uptake of butyric acid while maintaining the bacteria in a solventogenic phase.  In this project, the process will be scaled up to produce only butanol and to determine the efficiency of the new configuration in creating value-added agricultural products.  Phase I proved the stability of the strain in maintaining solventogensis and its efficacy in converting butyric acid from outside sources.  For the butyric acid strain, the ancillary products were inhibited so that more of the biomass was converted to butyric acid.  A second strain, Clostridium thyrobutyricum, was held in its solvent producing mode and a butyric-acid-only medium was fed which produced butanol only—not acetone or ethanol.  A material and energy balance was performed that predicted a yield of 2.5 gallons of butanol per bushel of corn—nearly double the historical yields for ABE.  Phase II will optimize and develop a strain that enhances the production rate, thus reducing the capital costs of a manufacturing facility.  The first scale up will be to a 150-liter reactor, then to a 2,000-liter reactor by year two.  An economic, material, and energy balance study will be performed and design drawings generated for a 10 million gallon per year (MGPY) facility.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The ability of a 10 MGPY butanol facility to produce 2.5 gallons per bushel in a worst case scenario should have a larger net income that produced by than a 40 MGPY ethanol plant.