Dewatering of Butanol Biofuel by a Highly Soluble Carbohydrate

Biobutanol is a superior biofuel alternative, but its recovery from acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation is inefficient due to azeotrope formation and high energy costs. This study investigates fructose-induced sugaring-out for phase separation and breaking the azeotrope, optimizing ABE recovery by analyzing the effects of sugar concentration and temperature. The results demonstrate efficient phase separation, with butanol recovery reaching 93.1%, acetone recovery at 66.0%, ethanol recovery at 59.1%, and water removal at 92.3%. Increasing fructose concentration enhances water exclusion and phase separation, while temperature variations play a secondary role compared to fructose concentration, only affecting separation efficiency at lower sugar concentrations. The findings highlight the dominant role of fructose-induced sugaring-out in phase formation and its potential for optimizing biofuel recovery. This method offers a highly efficient and tunable strategy for solvent recovery and water removal in biorefinery applications.