"The State of the Art of Ethanol

Production from Sugarcane in

Brazil"Brazil"

Patricia Guardabassi and Prof. José Goldemberg

University of São Paulo

Rome, November 11th 2011

The Brazilian Alcohol Program

The Brazilian Alcohol Program

• Started in 1975 by Federal Government

• Decision from Brazilian Federal Government to

produce ethanol in addition to sugar (from

sugarcane): objective of reducing petroleum imports.

• High-octane fuel in vehicles, replacing lead and/or

MTBE.

• Nowadays - economically competitive to gasoline.

“Birth certificate” of the Ethanol

Program in Brazil

• The expansion of ethanol production: Decree 76,593

(November 14th,1975)

– The price of ethanol should be up to 35% higher than the

price of 1kg of sugar

• The expansion of ethanol consumption

– Mandates for the amount of ethanol mixed into the

gasoline (25% today).

– Setting the price of ethanol paid by the producers at 59%

of the selling price of gasoline.

Evolution/Results of Policies

Developed in Brazil for Proalcool

• Transition to free market: 1990-2002

• 2002 – all prices are free

• Investment in the agricultural and industrial sectors

for the production of ethanol (1975-1989): US$ 4.92 for the production of ethanol (1975-1989): US$ 4.92

billion (2001 US$)

• Oil imports avoided meant savings amounting to US$

52.1 billion from 1975 to 2002 (Jan, 2003 US$) .

The use of ethanol

• In Brazil, ethanol is used in one of three ways:

– as octane enhancer in gasoline in the form of 20-25%

anhydrous ethanol at 99.6 Gay-Lussac (GL) and 0.4% water

(a mixture called gasohol), or

– in neat-ethanol engines in the form of hydrated ethanol at – in neat-ethanol engines in the form of hydrated ethanol at

95.5 GL (majority fleet in the 90’s now being replaced by

FFV), or

– in flex fuel vehicles (Brazilian flex fuel vehicles can run with

any blend of alcohol/gasoline, up to pure ethanol, E-100)

Ethanol Production in Brazil

The success of the ethanol program

i. Energy balancei. Energy balance

ii. Productivity gains

iii. Learning curve

Ethanol Energy Balance

Energy Balance

Evolution of Brazilian Ethanol

Productivity

Learning Curve

Challenges of the expansion of

sugarcane productionsugarcane production

i. Land use change

ii. Mechanical harvesting

iii. Water use

Evolution of cattle ranching intensification

in Brazil and the state of São Paulo

Source: IEA Database and IBGE

Evolution of Mechanical Harvesting

in the State of São Paulo

Surface water availability and

demand, São Paulo

Availability and Demand

1990 Estimates 2007

m3/s % m3/s %

Availability Q reference 2105 m3/s 2020 m3/s

Urban 87 25 137 30

* Estimation based on an average consumption of 1.85 m3 of water per ton of cane

Demand

Urban 87 25 137 30

Irrigation 154 44 178 39

Industrial 112 32 139 31

Of which ethanol production 47 13 35 8

Total 354 100 454 100

Sugar Cane Agro-

Environmental Zoning

• Definition of areas suitable for sugarcane crops

according to local environmental characteristics.

Agroecological Zoning for the State of São

Paulo

Suitalble

Suitable with environmental

limitations

Suitable with environmental

restrictions

Inadequate

National Agroecological Zoning

• 64.7 million hectares

suitable for sugarcane

crops

Perspectives for Replication of

Brazilian Ethanol Program in other

Developing CountriesDeveloping Countries