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Challenges, Constraints, and Limitations of Cane Biofuels

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Sugarcane Biofuels

Abstract

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) is the main source of sugar in the world, and its ability to produce large amounts of biomass makes this species extremely attractive in a biomass-dependent economy. Leveraged by the oil crisis and by environmental pressure to mitigate the climate change impacts, bioethanol (BE) emerged as a cleaner alternative liquid fuel for internal combustion engines (ICEs). The BE is usually produced via fermentation of sugars, extracted directly from sugarcane sucrose or from preprocessed starch-rich cereals, such as maize, wheat, or rice. Although sugarcane features higher BE yield (L ha−1) and as a promising alternative to mitigate the climate change impacts, its production is posed to a series of challenges and limitations ranging from climate restrictions, land availability, logistics infrastructure, and competitive price. Sugarcane is a perennial grass adapted to tropical and subtropical climates, sensitive to frosts and water shortages, limiting its cultivation in between ±30° latitudes. Yet, in places where the production could be expanded, it is usual to verify the lack of infrastructure for industrial establishment and for rapidly and effectively transporting large amounts of biomass to mills. While the slow progress of second-generation BE is still a constraint, the establishment of electric vehicles in the coming decade can reduce the BE demand. In this scenario, the sugarcane BE industry would have the challenge to share the remained BE market, with other consolidated and new feedstocks.

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Acknowledgments

Funding sources include Brazilian Research Council (CNPq grants 301424/2015-2, 401662/2016-0, and 425174/2018-2) and the Research Foundation of the State of São Paulo (FAPESP 2017/20925-0; 2017/50445-0).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of São Paulo, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil

    Fabio R. Marin & Murilo S. Vianna

  2. Federal University of São Carlos, Center of Nature Sciences, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil

    Daniel S. P. Nassif

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  1. Fabio R. Marin
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  2. Murilo S. Vianna
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  3. Daniel S. P. Nassif
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Correspondence to Fabio R. Marin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sugarcane Biotechnology Group, Nuclear Institute of Agriculture, Tandojam, Pakistan

    Muhammad Tahir Khan

  2. Sugarcane Biotechnology Group, Nuclear Institute of Agriculture, Tandojam, Pakistan

    Imtiaz Ahmed Khan

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Marin, F.R., Vianna, M.S., Nassif, D.S.P. (2019). Challenges, Constraints, and Limitations of Cane Biofuels. In: Khan, M., Khan, I. (eds) Sugarcane Biofuels. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18597-8_17

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