The Ignition of the Butanol Isomers Matthew A. Oehlschlaeger, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY The butanols are possible high-octane additives to gasoline Butanol ignition delay measurements: High-temperature shock tube ignition delay measurements indicate the reactivity of the butanol isomers. Kinetic modeling allows investigation of the importance of the various classes of consumption reactions: dehydration, unimolecular decomposition, and H-atom abstraction. Conclusions: 1-butanol and iso-butanol consumed by H-atom abstraction resulting in the formation of radicals, the decomposition of which yields highly reactive branching agents, H-atoms and OH radicals tert-butanol and 2-butanol consumed by dehydration, resulting in the formation of alkenes, which lead to resonance stabilized radicals with very low reactivity