US-based renewable company Gevo, supported by oil company Total and specialty-chemicals maker Lanxess, has re-commenced production of isobutanol at its plant located in Luverne, Minnesota.

The manufacture will be in single train mode, using its proprietary Gevo Integrated Fermentation Technology (GIFT).

The production at the facility resumed in May after it was terminated earlier in September 2012, following breakdown of technology, after was hit with a microbial contamination, according to Bloomberg.

According to Gevo chief executive officer Patrick Gruber, one fermenter at Gevo’s Luverne, Minnesota, plant was restarted in May, while the remaining three will commence production by the end 2013.

"As you may recall, we had some microbial contamination in our plant that we have since learned to control and manage. The fixes included changing the fermentation conditions and related operating parameters, making equipment modifications to improve sanitization, and, most importantly, improving our operating discipline — the procedures we use at the plant." added Gruber.

"We plan to be producing isobutanol and operating throughout the rest of this year. While we are currently operating a single production train, we plan on bringing all of our fermenters and GIFT® systems online in the third and fourth quarters, testing run rates, then ramping up production and sales in 2013 and 2014."

The isobutanol produced by the company will be sold by it.

It will be used for market development in the specialty chemicals market, the specialty oxygenated fuel blendstock market, as well as a unit to make jet fuel and chemical products such as paraxylene for PET used in the production of bottles and fibers.