Novel strategies for production of medium and high chain length alcohols

Abstract

Fermentation-derived ethanol is currently widely used as transport fuel, both as such or as a blending component in gasoline (Antoni et al. 2007; Mielenz 2001). However, longer chain alcohols have higher energy densities and are less soluble in water than ethanol, which are important advantages for their use as liquid transport fuels (Zhang et al. 2008). Butanol, a linear four-carbon-long alcohol, is one of the longest chain alcohols (together with 2,3-butanediol) found as natural major end product of microbial fermentation. It represents an important bulk chemical widely used in industry as solvent (e.g., in lacquers and paints), or as intermediate in chemical syntheses (see Sect. 11.2). The annual production of butanol has been estimated at approximately 2.8 million tons in 2006, with increasing demand and capacity in the coming years (Shao et al. 2007).