ABE Timeline
1861
Butanol production through microbial fermentation was reported for the first time by Louis Pasteur
1861
1912
Chaim Weizmann isolates the ABE bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum
1912
1916
commercial ABE production to make acetone for explosives in WW1
1916
1920 - 1960
ABE process spreads all over the world – at its peak it was second only to ethanol production as a fermentation industry
1920 - 1960
1980s
ABE facilities in South Africa and Russia close
1980s
2000s
ABE plants in China close down
2000s
2005
David Ramey drives an unmodified car 10,000 miles across the USA powered entirely on butanol
2005
2005
Interest in ABE is rekindled – plants start to re-open in China and new ABE companies begin to emerge
2005