Butanol is a very competitive renewable biofuel for use in internal combustion engines given its many advantages. In this review, the properties of butanol are compared with the conventional gasoline, diesel fuel, and some widely used biofuels, i.e. methanol, ethanol, biodiesel. The comparison of fuel properties indicates that n-butanol has the potential to overcome the drawbacks brought by low-carbon alcohols or biodiesel. Then, the development of butanol production is reviewed and various methods for increasing fermentative butanol production are introduced in detailed, i.e. metabolic engineering of the Clostridia, advanced fermentation technique. The most costive part of the fermentation is the substrate, so methods involved in renewed substrates are also mentioned. Next, the applications of butanol as a biofuel are summarized from three aspects: (1) fundamental combustion experiments in some well-defined burning reactors; (2) a substitute for gasoline in spark ignition engine; (3) a substitute for diesel fuel in compression ignition engine. These studies demonstrate that butanol, as a potential second generation biofuel, is a better alternative for the gasoline or diesel fuel, from the viewpoints of combustion characteristics, engine performance, and exhaust emissions. However, butanol has not been intensively studied when compared to ethanol or biodiesel, for which considerable numbers of reports are available. Finally, some challenges and future research directions are outlined in the last section of this review.

Progress in the production and application of n-butanol as a biofuel

Hierarchical and comparative kinetic modeling of laminar flame speeds of hydrocarbon and oxygenated fuels

Alcohol combustion chemistry

Natural-gas fueled spark-ignition (SI) and compression-ignition (CI) engine performance and emissions

A comprehensive chemical kinetic combustion model for the four butanol isomers

Emission characteristics of a spark-ignition engine fuelled with gasoline-n-butanol blends in combination with EGR

Experimental study on combustion characteristics of a spark-ignition engine fueled with natural gas–hydrogen blends combining with EGR

Experimental investigation on performance and emissions of a spark-ignition engine fuelled with natural gas–hydrogen blends combined with EGR

Laminar burning velocities and flame instabilities of butanol isomers–air mixtures

Measurements of laminar burning velocities and Markstein lengths of n-butanol−air premixed mixtures was made over a wide range of equivalence ratios at initial temperatures of 413, 443, and 473 K and initial pressures of 0.1 and 0.25 MPa using the high-speed schlieren photography and outwardly propagating flame. Effects of laminar flame thickness, thermal expansion ratio, and flame Lewis number on flame stability response were studied. Schlieren photos of flame propagation are recorded. The results show that laminar burning velocities of n-butanol−air premixed mixtures are increased with the increase of initial temperature, and they decrease with the increase of initial pressure. Markstein lengths are decreased with the increase of the equivalence ratio, and they decrease with the increase of initial temperature, and all these indicate that the flame instability is increased with the increase of equivalence ratio, the decrease of initial pressure, and the increase of initial temperature.

Measurements of Laminar Burning Velocities and Markstein Lengths of n-Butanol−Air Premixed Mixtures at Elevated Temperatures and Pressures

Xiaolei Gu

Papers

Emission characteristics of a spark-ignition engine fuelled with gasoline-n-butanol blends in combination with EGR

Experimental study on combustion characteristics of a spark-ignition engine fueled with natural gas–hydrogen blends combining with EGR

Experimental investigation on performance and emissions of a spark-ignition engine fuelled with natural gas–hydrogen blends combined with EGR

Laminar burning velocities and flame instabilities of butanol isomers–air mixtures

Measurements of Laminar Burning Velocities and Markstein Lengths of n-Butanol−Air Premixed Mixtures at Elevated Temperatures and Pressures