History - BioButanol and Butanol
Fermentation
Biobutanol production via anaerobic bacteria fermentation has been observed since 1861, when
it was witnessed by Pasteur. During anaerobic bacteria fermentation
processes, butanol is a single product among many. Another result is
the production of acetone, which was first witnessed in 1905 by Schardinger. By the beginning of the 20th century, interest in butanol had risen
sharply. This was due to butanol’s involvement in the solution to a
material shortage. A shortage of natural rubber had struck society and
efforts were undertaken to make a synthetic rubber. It was found that
butadiene or isoprene rubber could be synthesized from butanol or isoamyl alcohol, another fermentation
product. This discovery stimulated great interests in anaerobic
fermentative processes for compound production.
Between 1912 and 1914, Chaim Weizmann, a chemist, performed one of the first microorganism
screenings to study microbiology in hopes to better understand the fermentation process. One species he isolated, Clostridium acetobutylicum, was able to yield
more acetone and butanol than previous species while feeding on a larger range of
biomass.
The next advancement occurred during World War 1, when the British army needed to produce
smokeless gun powder in far larger amounts than importing could handle. In order to produce the smokeless powder, or cordite, acetone was required as a
colloidal solvent. To solve the problem, the British army sought the
help of Weizmann. Weizmann designed a system to increase acetone
production via fermentation, which was later adopted by Great Britain and implemented at the Royal Naval Cordite
Factory. Once the U.S. joined the war, a joint project was started
between the U.S. and Great Britain to produce acetone in the Midwest United States. The result of the joint project was the opening of two acetone production facilities
which were open for less than a year.
After WW1 ended, large stockpiles of butanol had been built up as a byproduct of the acetone
production. This stockpile was employed by E.I. du Pont de Nemours
& Co. as a solvent for a nitrocellulose lacquer, which was a quick-drying automobile
finish. Also, the acetone production facilities, which were employed
by the U.S. and Great Britain joint project during the war, were purchased and reopened to produce
butanol.
When Weizmann’s patent expired in 1936, a flood of anaerobic fermentation plants were
opened. Molasses fermentation processes grew in popularity as new
microorganisms were isolated. Every company had its own unique
patented microorganism, which was able to produce acetone and butanol in great amounts from the
molasses.
The next spike in fermentation utility occurred during WW2, when acetone was again needed for
munitions production. Acetone production from molasses was set to the
highest sustainable rates and above in some places. Great Britain
actually had to import its molasses and the U.S. eventually reverted to corn mash. Other companies involved in acetone production included India, Australia, South Africa,
and Japan.
Fermentation processes finally began to experience a decline after the end of WW2 and by the
1960’s, came to a screeching halt in the U.S. This was the time that
petrochemical production of solvents became much easier and cheaper and also when farmer interests in molasses
caused molasses prices to increase dramatically. The combination of
these events made fermentative production of acetone and butanol inefficient and not
economical.
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