Review on the synthesis, performance and trends of butanol: a cleaner fuel additive for gasoline

Alcohols as fuels have generated a lot of interest and considerable amount of research has been done in the past few years on various alcohols being used as blends with gasoline and diesel in spark ignition (SI) and compression ignition engine, respectively. This paper reviews all the aspects pertaining to using butanol right from its synthesis and comparison between the properties of the first five members of the alcohol family. The findings of some of the experiments with butanol blended gasoline fuel (SI engine) are summarised. The paper also discusses the various compatibility issues that might crop up due to the interaction of the fuel with the existing engines and fuelling infrastructure. It has been concluded that the butanol can indeed serve as a practical alternative to gasoline and it would be beneficial in cutting down the toxic emissions from the vehicles.

Automated summary

Alcohols as fuels have attracted a lot of attention, with butanol blended with gasoline considered as a practical alternative that can help reduce toxic emissions from vehicles.