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Techno-Economic Analysis of Second-Generation Ethanol in Brazil: Competitive, Complementary Aspects with First-Generation Ethanol

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Abstract

Brazil achieved important success in the implementation of ethanol as a reality renewable energy source after the inception of the National Alcohol Program (PROÁLCOOL) in 1970. Today, ethanol produced from sugarcane replaces almost 50 % of gasoline in Brazil. More than 448 bioethanol production (first-generation ethanol) units are functional, which fulfill the 25 % ethanol blending to gasoline that eventually reduces the import of 550 million oil barrels improving the socioeconomic status and saving foreign exchange reserves. Brazil has more than 80 % of its light vehicles running on bioethanol, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. At present, this demand for ethanol is being met through first-generation (1G) ethanol which is directly produced from sugarcane juice and molasses. However, significant research in bioenergy in the last two decades has shown the possibilities of commercialization of second-generation (2G) ethanol, which can be produced from sugarcane bagasse (SB) and straw (SS), complementing 1G ethanol. Nevertheless, both the residues (SB and SS) are an excellent source for cogeneration of heat and power (CHP) in sugarcane processing units. Process simulation studies have provided additional source of information on the overall use of sugarcane for ethanol production and CHP. For the evaluation of the fullest utilization of sugarcane and its by-products, CTBE (Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Laboratory) has developed the Virtual Sugarcane Biorefinery (VSB), a comprehensive assessment framework to evaluate a sustainability standpoint (economic, environmental, and social), different biorefinery alternatives. This chapter reviews the important insights made into bioethanol production in Brazil. Technical configuration for 1G and 2G ethanol production and sustainability of ethanol (economic and environmental assessment) have also been discussed.

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Acknowledgment

The authors are grateful to BIOEN-FAPESP for the financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Engineering School of Lorena, University of São Paulo, Estrada Municipal do Campinho, Lorena, SP, 12602-810, Brazil

    Anuj Kumar Chandel & Silvio Silvério da Silva

  2. Laboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol–CTBE, P. O. Box 6170, Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil

    Tassia Lopes Junqueira, Edvaldo Rodrigo Morais, Vera Lucia Reis Gouveia, Otavio Cavalett, Elmer Ccopa Rivera, Victor Coelho Geraldo & Antonio Bonomi

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  1. Anuj Kumar Chandel
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  2. Tassia Lopes Junqueira
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Correspondence to Anuj Kumar Chandel or Silvio Silvério da Silva .

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  1. Department of Biotechnology, Engineering School of Lorena, University of São Paulo, Lorena/SP, São Paulo, Brazil

    Silvio Silvério da Silva

  2. Department of Biotechnology Engineering School of Lorena, University of São Paulo, Lorena/SP, São Paulo, Brazil

    Anuj Kumar Chandel

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Chandel, A.K. et al. (2014). Techno-Economic Analysis of Second-Generation Ethanol in Brazil: Competitive, Complementary Aspects with First-Generation Ethanol. In: da Silva, S., Chandel, A. (eds) Biofuels in Brazil. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05020-1_1

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