Ethanol is a bad fuel. Butanol is a much better fuel.
- It does not take away from the food supply,
- it has a better BTU content,
- it is a feeder chemical to a large number of products
- it can be transported via pipelines and traditional gasoline distribution infrastructure
- it is hydrophobic (does not soak up water)
- It can be produced from algae
- it can be produced as an alternate "crop" by farmers
If the intent is to develop a long term alternative to oil/gas industries, then we should be looking at how to increase the butanol production via small pilot programs out of the Dept of Agriculture. Perhaps start by sponsoring a contest where farmers submit their designs for algae based butanol production with emphasis being placed on designs that a small farm can used to provide their own fuel. Winners would be rewarded with some monetary prize. Second round could be a college challenge where the most butanol is produced for a fixed starting amount. Once the designs are submitted and the contest is over, release a CD/DVD with the designs to the public.
Once a significant farm production starts in an area, local agri-coops can serve as collection points for excess butanol that can be sold into the broader market.
In 2016, there were 143 Billion gallons of finished gasoline produced in the US. With 2.2 million farms out there, That would require the production of 65,000 gallons per farm to replace the entire market. That works out to about 5,500 gallons per month and is in my opinion, beyond the capability of a small farm. At least initially.
So a 1% replacement would only be 650 gallons per farm annually or 55 gallons per month. I believe that would be doable. Even if the farmer only used the fuel produced to offset the fuel consumed, it would work to decrease demand. One would start to see a retail price impact at about 5% production.
