Gevo has resumed commercial production of isobutanol at its plant in Luverne, Minnesota, in single train mode, the company said Tuesday.
Gevo will sell the isobutanol it produces, it said in a statement.
The Luverne isobutanol plant had been shut since September after contamination issues forced a shift to ethanol production, the company said at the time. Those issues are now resolved, it said.
The isobutanol will be used for market development in the specialty chemicals market and the specialty oxygenated fuel blendstock market, Gevo said. It will also be used as a building block to make jet fuel and chemical products such as paraxylene for polyethylene terephthalate used in the production of bottles and fibers.
"We plan to be producing isobutanol and operating throughout the rest of this year," CEO Patrick Gruber said. "While we are currently operating a single production train, we plan on bringing all of our fermenters and (Gevo Integrated Fermentation Technology) systems online in the third and fourth quarters, testing run rates, then ramping up production and sales in 2013 and 2014."
The Luverne plant has an estimated annual isobutanol capacity of 18 million gallons/year, according to the company's website.
