The team used ORNL's neutron scattering capabilities and molecular dynamics simulations to analyze the fermentation process producing butanol, an energy-packed alcohol that can be used as a biofuel, ...

The team used ORNL’s neutron scattering capabilities and molecular dynamics simulations to analyze the fermentation process producing butanol, an energy-packed alcohol that can be used as a ...

Butanol itself is toxic to the microbes that ... These experiments also reveal the molecular structures and arrangements ...

However, the solubility decreases as the length of the alcohol molecule gets longer, so butanol is less soluble than propanol. It may not mix easily, and two distinct layers might be left in the ...

“Neutrons give you the ability to probe the interior of the membrane to help determine how the butanol is distributed,” said Hugh O’Neill, director of the Center for Structural Molecular Biology at ...