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Catalyxx’s Bio n-butanol and other longer chain linear alcohols from ethanol caught NCGA’s eye. n-Butanol is used to make other chemicals (butyl acetate and butyl acrylates), and valuable as a solvent or as an ingredient in formulated products such as cosmetics. The C4+ alcohol mix can be used for diesel and marine fuels. Now that’s multi-purpose!

n-Butanol or n-butyl alcohol or normal butanol is a primary alcohol with a 4-carbon structure and the chemical formula C4H9OH. n-Butanol is a clear, colorless liquid that is flammable. It has a characteristic banana-like odor. lt is used to make other chemicals (butyl acetate and butyl acrylates), as a solvent, or as an ingredient in formulated products such as cosmetics.

Catalyxx’s technology is based on the Guerbet reaction. It is a condensation reaction of two alcohols into the final ‘Guerbet’ alcohol with the release of water. Catalyxx technology is based on the work that Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies developed for more than five years. This technology has been able to surpass the previous state of the art yield by more than 60%. Moreover, it has a very high selectivity and it is able, depending on the reaction conditions, to adapt the final product yields to optimize plant revenues and profits.

The most common method to produce butanol is called the “Oxo Process”. In this process, propylene reacts with a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen to produce butanol and 2 ethyl hexanol (2EH). Propylene is produced as a by-product of ethylene production in naphtha crackers.

The Catalyxx production process is a chemical “catalytic” process using a bio-based feedstock, versus other “biological” reaction processes using fermentation. The advantage of the catalytic process is the ability to scale and reduce cost. Catalyxx will use conventional petrochemical equipment (reactors, distillation columns, heat exchangers, molecular sieves, etc.) that have been used for decades.

Check out “Catalytic Conversion of Ethanol into Renewable Chemicals: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Catalyxx” here. And a short Digest exclusive Q&A with Catalyxx from 2020 here.