Publication date: 08/02/2016 Last update: 18/12/2017 General description 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 Butanol is a four-carbon alcohol with chemical formula C 4 H 10 O. There are four possible isomers for this molecule: n-butanol, isobutanol, tert-butanol and sec-butanol. Their different structures have a straight impact on their physical and chemical properties. Figure 1. Isomers of butanol Biobutanol is commonly used to refer to the butanol produced from biomass. n-Butanol is the major natural product formed in ABE fermentation. Isobutanol can be produced in alcoholic fermentation. sec-Butanol cannot be directly obtained by fermentation although it can be generated via 2,3-butanediol from fermentative processes. tert-Butanol is not produced by any known biological route. For the purposes of this post, biobutanol will stand for n-butanol, isobutanol or both of them, depending on the case. Butanol formation through anaerobic bacteria fermentation was already observed by ...