We have shared with you the benefits of butanol over other potential biofuels in past articles. The basics are that butanol can be created from the same crops that are currently being used to create ethanol, and butanol carries more energy density. Ethanol is viewed mainly as a starting point for the biofuel alcohol industry, with butanol being the next logical step. Butanol was created with use in automobile applications in mind right from the start, which was not the case with ethanol, according to Philip New, president of BP Biofuels. The article with his comments can be found here and is definitely worth a read if you are interested in alcohol fuels. What are the chances that butanol takes ethanol's place in the biofuel market any time soon? I'm not sure, but I do know that backing from a huge oil company like BP is a good start.

[Source: Technology Review]