Biobutanol is butanol from biomass. It is mainly produced through a process called ABE, which is actually the fermentation of biomass. It is produced from the same crops as bioethanol and can be blended into petrol at higher levels. Many experts claim that biobutanol is the future, and that it will enormously help the world to battle with the energy crisis.

Therefore, two UK-based companies — oil giant BP and science-oriented DuPont have formed a company called “Kingston Research”, which will focus on exploring the possibilities for producing biobutanol. The total investment is 27.5 million euro, and the facilities are located in the city of Hull, UK. At that same location, another joint company has its headquarters — “Vervigo Fuels”, which is a joint venture between BP, DuPont and British Sugar. It is focused on producing bioethanol, so co-operation between these two companies will take place immediately.
“In the future, it will be possible to convert bioethanol refineries to produce biobutanol,” said Luc Van Den Hemel, general director of Kingston Research.

BP has invested around $2 billion in biofuel research so far, mostly by partnering up with other companies to create new technologies to produce all sorts of biofuels.