Sugarcane bioethanol — R&D for Productivity and Sustainability

GREENHOUSE GASES EMISSIONS RELATED TO SUGARCANE ETHANOL

Seabra, Joaquim E. A.; Macedo, Isaías Carvalho; Leal, Manoel Regis Lima Verde;

Resumo:

One of the main objectives of biofuels use is the replacement of fossil fuels, contributing to the reduction of dependency on fossil fuels and mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. But the effectiveness of such substitution depends in the way the biofuel is produced. Since all processing technologies involve direct or indirectly the use of fossil resources, the real benefit of a biofuel depends on the net fossil energy savings resulted from its use, also taking into account the GHG emissions associated to its lifecycle. The environmental advantages of sugarcanebased ethanol, regarding gasoline substitution and GHG emissions mitigation, have been acknowledged since the first comprehensive energy balance and GHG emissions studies were available (Silva et al., 1978; Macedo and Nogueira, 1985; Macedo, 1992). Updating studies have been published since then (Macedo, 1998; Macedo et al., 2004), following the changes in the sugarcane sector and the new parameters for environmental analysis. But the rapid growth of the cane sector in Brazil in the last decade, associated to some legal constraints and technology development are changing important parameters in this evaluation. New cane varieties and productivity, the legal restrictions to sugarcane burning practice and the increased mechanization influence the energy and emissions balance in different ways. Furthermore, cane mills started a strong action in selling electricity surplus, and the use of portion of the cane trash for energy will be seen in the next years.

Part 2 — Sustainability of Biofuels Production and Consuption :

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DOI: 10.5151/BlucherOA-Sugarcane-SUGARCANEBIOETHANOL_29

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Como citar:

SEABRA, Joaquim E. A.; MACEDO, Isaías Carvalho; LEAL, Manoel Regis Lima Verde; "GREENHOUSE GASES EMISSIONS RELATED TO SUGARCANE ETHANOL", p. 291 -300. In: Sugarcane bioethanol — R&D for Productivity and Sustainability. São Paulo: Blucher, .
ISBN: 978-85-212-0822-8, DOI 10.5151/BlucherOA-Sugarcane-SUGARCANEBIOETHANOL_29