One downside to butanol is it is both toxic and water soluble, a very
bad combination. This is the problem with another gasoline additive,
MTBE. Gasoline spills not having MTBE are much easier to clean up,
and less likely to actually get to well intakes in large quantity
because gasoline is not water soluble and migrates upward in water.
MTBE dissolves in water and thus fully contaminates aquifers it
manages to reach. Cleanup is nearly impossible. The same would be
true for butanol. There has been a movement to ban MTBE from use in
fuels. I would guess oil companies would love to see a movement
exist to ban a bio-fuel after much is invested in it.
It seems to me ethanol would be a much better fuel, especially pure
ethanol that is not denatured. That will of course never be
available because it would be consumed and ruin the liquor business
and liquor tax revenues. If the last depression is any indication,
there is a high demand for ethanol in a depression. Alcohol is not
banned now, but the taxes are high enough now that a de facto ban
would exist in a depression. Are we headed back to the days of
speakeasys, rum runners, white lightning, and back country stills?
Will the product be drunk, or used as fuel? Only the future can tell
for sure.
Best regards,
Horace Heffner
http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/
