BIO FUEL

PRODUCTION IN
BRAZIL

DHUWARAHA RAJATHELKAN
Banner ID: B00172276
BEng (Hons) CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Supervisor: Mr Joseph Heffernan








ENGG 09018 Independent Study
School of Engineering
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1 STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY

This Individual Study Module Report was prepared by Dhuwaraha Rajathelakan
(B00172276) a student on the Chemical Engineering course at the University of
West of Scotland. This report is my work solely and it has not been submitted
previously for any academic award.


















Signed________________________ Date___________________

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Table of Contents
1 STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY ...................................................................... 2
2 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 4
3 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................... 5
4 HOW ITS MADE ................................................................................................. 6
4.1 GROWING THE SUGARCANE IN THE FIELD ............................................. 8
4.2 TRANSFER OF THE SUGARCANE FROM THE FIELD TO THE MILL ....... 9
4.3 MILLING OF THE SUGARCANE ................................................................ 10
4.4 MIXING AND FILTERING OF THE SUGARCANE ..................................... 10
4.5 DISTILLATION OF THE SUGARCANE ...................................................... 11
4.6 STORAGE OF THE END PRODUCT ......................................................... 11
5 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF BIO-FUEL IN BRAZIL ................. 12
6 BIO-DIESEL PRODUCTION IN BRAZIL ........................................................... 14
7 BRAZILS ENERGY MATRIX ............................................................................ 16
8 WORLD MARKET OF BIO FUELS .................................................................... 17
9 ETHANOLS LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ............................................ 19
10 BIO-DIESELS LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ........................................ 22
11 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................... 22
12 REFERENCE..................................................................................................... 23

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2 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this report is to research about Bio-fuel production in Brazil and
compare it to bio-fuel production around the world consequently meeting the
requirements for a module called Independent Study at the University of West of
Scotland. The aim of this report is to determine whether bio-fuel production in Brazil
is beneficial to the population. This report consists of many sections each discussing
a different aspect of the bio-fuel production such as pros and cons, how its made,
the world market, environmental impact, etc. The research will include a variety of
references from books, journals, internet and articles.
















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3 BACKGROUND
Bio-fuel is fuel that is made from biological materials and bio-fuel production is a
great way to minimise greenhouse gas emissions. The most commonly used
material of such would be plants and any waste that living things produce. In the past
few years there has been a struggle in the search of a renewable energy due to the
worries of global warming. The sugarcane ethanol industry in Brazil has had a great
advantage due to this. Crops that are grown by farmers are sold to refineries for the
production of bio-fuel. Bio-ethanol and bio-diesel are the two major source of bio-
fuel. Petrol and diesel are fossil fuels which are finite therefore it is very important to
have more renewable and ecological fuels such as bio-ethanol and bio-diesel. By
switching to these fuel types the percentage of carbon footprint can be reduced
because transport is one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters. Bio-diesel is made
from soya beans, oily plants, animal fats, but the most commonly used oil would be
rapeseed oil. Bio-diesel can be used in any diesel operated vehicles without making
any alterations to the engine. On the other hand fermentation of sugar cane is used
in the production of bio-ethanol and other materials such as wheat, corn and other
sugary plants. However unlike diesel engines petrol engines need to be modified
unless it is a modern engine because that can take up to 10 percent of ethanol
without having any alterations being carried out to the engine. United States of
America and Brazil are the worlds largest producers of ethanol fuel and together
lead the industrial production. The most maintainable bio-fuel economy is known to
be in Brazil due to the large amount of lands for agriculture. The sugar cane ethanol
produced has been a great success for transportation which reduces emissions and
acts as a model for many other countries which want to switch to bio-fuel for
development.
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4 HOW ITS MADE
The main ingredient used to make bioethanol in Brazil is sugarcane. The whole
process roughly takes about 12 hours and contains 6 main stages. These are:
1. Growing the sugarcane in fields.






2. Transfer of the sugarcane from the field to the mill and unloading it.







3. Milling of the sugarcane.






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4. Mixing and filtering of the sugarcane.








5. Distillation of the sugarcane.








6. Storage of the end product.





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Figure 4. Cultivator

Figure 2. Cane Cutter
Figure 1. Joint knots
Figure 3.Cane Planter
4.1 GROWING THE SUGARCANE IN THE FIELD
A two row cane cutter is used to cut a field full of sugar cane. Then the canes are cut
in to small pieces at the joint knot (the lines on the cane) and at the end of each of
these joint knots there is an eye which is where the new cane grows out from.
These cut sugarcanes are loaded in to the mechanical cane planter. Before the
sugar cane can be planted the soil has to be prepared. A cultivator is first used to cut
several rows and simultaneously mix compost and fertilizer in to the soil, followed by
a tiller which loosens the soil and helps water reach the roots of the canes.
Thereafter the sugarcane plants are dropped in to the cut rows by a mechanical
cane planter. Labourers then walk by the rows to ensure the sugar canes are in the
open rows. A three row coverer then uses soil to cover up the cut rows filled with the
sugarcanes. Finally rollers pack soil on top of new planted cane. These sugarcanes
will be ready to be harvested in 12 to 24 months. The harvesting periods will range
depending on the region and its climate.











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4.2 TRANSFER OF THE SUGARCANE FROM THE FIELD TO THE MILL
In this century there is not many manual loading that take place because machinery
can get the job done faster and cost effectively. Self-propelled push pile loaders and
mobile cranes have replaced labourers resulting in a cut of labour charges. These
machineries are mostly used in large areas of land by the growers of the sugarcanes
to get the load on to the vehicles that are going to transport the sugarcanes from the
fields to the mills. Mobile cranes can load up to 30 tonnes per hour and push pile
loaders are capable of loading 30 to 40 tonnes per hour.





Figure 7. Rollers
Figure 5.Tiller Figure 6. Row
Figure 8. Self-propelled push pile loader
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4.3 MILLING OF THE SUGARCANE
In the milling stage the transported sugarcane are unloaded and are sent to a
crushing system via conveyor belts. Rollers are then used to squash the juice out of
the canes and the remaining cane fibre which is a by-product called bagasse is sent
to be burned in the boilers. The bagasse process produces high pressure steam by
heating the water. This steam is used for electricity.







4.4 MIXING AND FILTERING OF THE SUGARCANE
The juice that is collected from the crushing process is then heated and there after
sulphur, lime and thickener are added to that mixture. The next stage is to remove
majority of the impurities which is done by pumping the mixture through rotating
filters. This will help separate most of the impurities. Filter cake is a crumbly residue
which remains from the separating process is then recycled and used as natural
fertilisers on the sugarcane fields.





Figure 9. Shredded Sugarcane being crushed to
extract the juice

Figure 10. By-product Bagasse

Figure 11. Rotating Filters

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4.5 DISTILLATION OF THE SUGARCANE
The separated fluid is then sent through two distillation columns to further remove
the water from it by heating the mixture. The product produced by this process is
known as hydrated ethanol which is used as fuel for transport. The by-product that is
formed is called Vinasse. It is recycled and sprayed as a fertiliser in the sugarcane
fields. Hydrated ethanol from the second distillation process gets sent to a third
distillation column to further remove more water. The final product of this process is
known as anhydrous ethanol. This ethanol is used mainly by adapted cars in Brazil
called flex fuel. Flex fuel cars can switch between bio ethanol and gasoline.







4.6 STORAGE OF THE END PRODUCT
The finished product which is bio-ethanol is stored is large tanks. It will then be
shipped off to the markets to sell as fuel for customers.







Figure 12. Flex Fuel car models and bio-ethanol pumps

Figure 13. Pressurised storage tanks for ethanol.

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5 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF BIO-FUEL IN BRAZIL
The main advantage of bio-fuel production is that less carbon dioxide is emitted and
greenhouse gases will also be reduced which is a great benefit for the environment.
The main disadvantage would be that large areas are needed for this production,
therefore rain forests and natural habitats are destroyed. This also would result in
monoculture agriculture; meaning only one kind of crop is grown, lacking on variety.
A large impact on biodiversity will occur. This also means that farmers have to limit
the use of sugarcane for other processes to meet the ethanol industries demands.
Because of this the prices of sugarcane products such as feed, sugar and other
grains will increase. Even though this is a disadvantage, Brazils population would
much rather prefer to depend on their native farmers rather than manufacturers from
foreign countries.
Although bio-fuel sounds like a great idea, firstly the question that needs to be asked
is that; is it really a greener production? Despite the fact greenhouses gases are
reduced, bio-fuel releases nitric oxides which are a cause of acid rain. These
disadvantages should be considered before making a big decision about entirely
converting to the greener side. It is a great difficulty for a nation to be dependent
mainly on bio-fuel because it is not guaranteed that the crops will grow on time, due
to things like soil erosion, droughts, insect damage and many more in which the
plant will be vulnerable in. On the other hand ethanol does burn cleaner compared
to gasoline which is a great advantage. The toxins released by cars that use
gasoline is greater compared to cars that use E85 ethanol. E85 ethanol is a blend of
85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Gasoline contains lead and benzene which are
cancer causing agents. In this comparison ethanol can be considered as an
substitute or even a replacement to gasoline.
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Even supposing that ethanol does less damage to the environment, it is very
corrosive. Since ethanol can contain many impurities by simply absorbing water and
dirt, it can damage the car engine by corroding the inside if the filtering process is
unsuccessful.
Majority of the world population are worried about gasoline prices increasing but if
ethanol is instigated nationwide it would cost more than gasoline but have less
efficiency compared. Drivers would pay more for fuel them would not get them as far
as gasoline would. They would also need to travel further to get E85 ethanol
because only particular gas stations would provide it.
While this may give an idea that there are more disadvantages than advantages to
the public, farmers may find it very beneficial. If their crops are linked to the
transporting and food processing industries it will boost their economic status.
There is also a disadvantage in this situation. If the land used to grow the crops is
well-worn, the soil will become washed-out of nutrients such as minerals. This will
result in a less efficient fuel. The production of the ethanol will cost more than the
savings from buying imported oil from foreign countries. This plan would not be a
profitable income to the country.
It is quite difficult to reach a conclusion on this discussion. Saying so, many countries
are going ahead with the production of bio-fuel because it appears to be the most
common and the first alternative fuel that is controlled and executed on a large scale.
This gives opportunities for bio-fuel industries to advance with the construction of
new facilities which in result encourages farmers to increase the size of their
sugarcane farmlands.


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6 BIO-DIESEL PRODUCTION IN BRAZIL
Brazil is already on the top of the market for the energy matrix. Due to the expansion
of the worlds economy, energy demands are on the rise. As a result of this worlds
bio-fuel markets are using raw materials to their advantage and producing bio-diesel
as an alternative energy source along-side bio-ethanol. Fossil fuels are eventually
going to run out which means everyone has to turn to bio-fuels one way or another.
Brazil with its soil and great climate has the potential to produce the biomass needed
for the making of bio-diesel. This program will benefit the farmers that live in the
poorer areas.
In January 2005 bio-diesel was introduced as a new fuel in the energy mix. After 3
years 2% of bio-diesel (B2) was blended to diesel oil. The percentage increased by
another 3% (B5) in 2013. Bio-diesel producers are hoping for blend percentage to
keep increasing until B100 is reached in other words 100% bio-diesel. Based on the
grower, seller, feedstock and other raw materials used to produce the fuel it is said
that the tax has been reduced by 2005.
To manufacture and trade this new fuel, the law in Brazil states that all of the bio-
diesel producers must have a Social Fuel Stamp certificate issued by the Agrarian
Development Ministry. This means that feed stock produced from family owned
farms from the poorer areas must be purchased. The percentage will range from
area to area. For example in the Midwest and North it would be 10%, in the South
east regions it would be 30% and the percentage increases as you move on to the
Northeast areas up to 50%. Bio-fuel producers are also expected to sign agreements
with agricultural producers in those regions concerning costs, delivery times, and
schedules and provide technical assistance.
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Bio-diesel manufacturers who use other products such as palm oil or castor oil which
are from the North and Northeast get 100% money back on fuel taxes. These oils
have to be purchased from family farms. If the oils are bought from other farms
which a situated in the same regions they will only get a 32% reduction on tax.
Other feedstock, apart from castor oil and palm oil, is grown on family farms the tax
is reduced to 68%.
One of the important aspects of this bio-diesel project is to provide employment and
income opportunities to the poorest regions in Brazil. Another would be that there are
a variety of feed stocks and raw materials present in Brazil for the production of bio-
diesel. Examples of these would be; cotton, soybean, sunflower, castor beans, palm
oil, radish, animal fat, peanuts, etc. Anyone who wants to manufacture and sell bio-
diesel can produce bio-diesel as long as they are registered under the Brazilian
Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Regulator and have received authorization from them.
This was put in to place by the government to help out family farms therefore
classifying the company as socially friendly.








Figure 14. Family farms in rural areas of Brazil
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Figure 16. Energy supply structure (%) in 2012
7 BRAZILS ENERGY MATRIX
In the 1970s Brazil has imported 80% of its oil consumption but now Brazil stands on
its own two feet and is an energy independent country. This greatly successful
transition of producing green fuel puts Brazil ahead by more than 20% of the rest of
the world and makes it the leader of manufacturing renewable energy.










Brazils largest foundation of renewable energy is the sugarcane. This country is very
privileged to have such a diversity of raw materials to produce renewable energy.
Renewable energy has replaced 40% of gasoline making gasoline the alternative
fuel in Brazil.





Figure 15. Brazilian energy matrix in 2012
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8 WORLD MARKET OF BIO FUELS
Bio-fuels play a huge role in the petroleum industry by being the solutions to
economic, environmental and energy securities. Bio-fuel production has increased in
the past 10 years with United States of America and Brazil being popular producers
of bio-ethanol and Europe being known for its production of bio-diesel. Researchers
say that bio-ethanol and bio-diesel has a great chance of replacing gasoline.
It is predicted that the world market of bio-fuels will vastly increase over the next 7 to
10 years. In 2011 the market was worth $82.7 billion (49.02 billion) which in 2021
will double to $185.3 billion (109.85 billion). However, there are many negatives
also present in this industry which could prevent it from meeting government orders.
Researchers from Biofuel markets and technologies suggest that there will be a
stable growth in 2016 which will run into a rapid growth between 2017 and 2021.
Compared to bio-diesel production bio-ethanol has a high demand in the industry
and is projected to reach up to $65.7 billion gallons per year (38.95 billion) by 2021.
Bio-diesels price is clarified at $16.2 billion gallons per year (9.60 billion) but bio-
ethanol is dominating with an enormous $50 billion gallon per year (29.64 billion).
A minimum of 38 countries are joining the production of Greener fuel with Brazil
being the largest market of the world followed by The United States of America and
he European union. These three markets globally produced 85% in 2010. 48% of
this production was steered by North America, while Europe was globally
responsible for 49% of bio-diesel production.
Because of financing difficulties of producing the feedstock for bio-fuel production the
rate of which the market growth depends on might drop and not meet the
requirements by 2021.The estimated rate of $71.8 billion per gallon (42.56 billion)
might not be reached.
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Figure 18. Biofuels demand by region, Global Market: 2011-2021








Rather than questioning the validity of the biofuel technology for the failure to meet
the future demand, the world fuel market should be examined. This is because
researchers estimated prices of gasoline and diesel to increase by 2021 by more
than double. The gasoline market will be worth at $375 billion per gallon (222.30
billion) and the diesel market will reach up to $427 billion per gallon (253.13 billion).
The aviation and marine fuel demand will also contribute up to $200 billion gallon per
year (118.56 billion) to the world market.
In 2011 the bio-fuel industry gained $29.4 billion per gallon (17.43 billion). Even if
the current production rates were to be doubled it still would be a tough competition
with the gasoline market because the biofuel industry will only represent 7% of the
fuel market.






Figure 17. Biofuels demand by region, Global Market: 2011-2021
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9 ETHANOLS LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Brazil has around 50 laws put in place for environmental impact of ethanol
production. The main concern of the ethanol production is the discharge of an acidic
distillation residue called Vinhoto in to rivers and lakes of Brazil. The water pollution
issue was solved with the use of lime to neutralize the acidic distillation residue and
recycle it to use it as fertilizers. This fertilizer replaces the use of mineral fertilizers in
sugarcane plantations. Since the 1970s the use of fertilizers in sugarcane fields has
been kept at a constant rate.
The Brazilian Government are doing all they can to control water pollution. To protect
these water resources the main resourcefulness is to recover river boundaries by
replantation. Farmers are persuaded by law to replant to preserve water.
Most sugarcane plantation farmers depend on the rain to feed plants rather than use
collected water. The government are trying to control the amount of water used in
ethanol production because the rate of water consumed in this process is very high.
In 1990s the water consumption rate was 5.6 cubic meters per tonne cane and this
has been reduced to 1.83 cubic meters per tonne cane in 15 years time. The
ethanol production industries are aiming to reduce the water consumption to a
minimum value of 1 cubic meter per tonne cane and decrease the rate of released
effluent to a value close to zero. This value is aimed to be achieved by the reuse of
water.
Water is usually free around most areas of Brazil for the production of ethanol. In
rural areas charging for water is not known amongst the population. This is not yet a
widespread application.
Conferring with the water opportunity cost each river basin is forming a committee
that are in control of creating a pricelist for the water usage of each ethanol plant.
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The cost of water is not constant. It fluctuates from individual river basins. In some
states such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro the committees have fixed rates for the
level of non-treated water consumed.
It costs R$0.01 per cubic meter for non-treated water collected from major rivers and
a higher rate between R$0.07 and R$0.1 per kilogram for polluted water that has
been discharged through the distillation process. It will be cheaper for industries to
treat the water before discharging it.
An additional environmental impact would be the use of herbicides on sugarcane
estates to get rid of pests. This has been reduced due to the new types of sugarcane
which are more unaffected by pests. Farmers are modifying more sugarcane
through agriculture research. This will decrease the usage of herbicides on
sugarcane plantations.
Pests were controlled through burning sugarcane straws and leaves. This was done
manually by labourers but now that mechanical harvesting has been introduced, it is
not clear how the development of pest resistant sugarcanes would be affected. The
productivity of manual harvesting is higher compared to mechanical harvesting but
the burning of sugarcanes produces large amounts of smoke that pollutes the
environment and spreads to nearby cities. Manual harvesting is also a slow and
difficult process due to the leaves and straws of the sugarcane. The burning of
sugarcane had to be took action on due to pollution issues.





Figure 19. Considering Straw from the production of 360 million tonnes of sugarcane burned for harvesting
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Manual harvesting eventually was not as popular as mechanical and most industries
started taking on mechanized harvesting. This was because legislations did not allow
the burning of sugarcane at estates situated near urban areas.
Government have suggested all industries to change from manual to mechanical by
2021 because sugarcane leaf can cut workers which is a health and safety issue.
Normally to prevent the leaves from cutting the labourers it would be burned but
because it is not allowed, labourers are forced to use machinery. Farms that are not
on flat area the fixed deadline to convert from manual to mechanical is not until
2031.
Mechanized harvesting reduces the productivity rate by about 30%, so burning
sugarcane cannot completely be stopped but by replanting sugarcane every year
can increase the rate of productivity.
On the up side, since the 1980 the blend of ethanol in to gasoline has improved in
quality therefore reducing pollution rates. This will balance out the pollution given off
during the burning of sugarcane. The blend of ethanol created now completely
eliminates sulphur oxide and carbon and reduces the percentage of carbon
monoxide by 20%. This change has helped Brazil save up to $500 million per year
(296.49 million).







Figure 20. Burning of sugarcane during harvesting
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10 BIO-DIESELS LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
As I mentioned earlier bio-diesel production is still at its earlier stages compared to
ethanol manufacturing. Government are still researching on the environmental
impacts of bio-diesel production by examining the oily plants used for this invention.
The National Agriculture Research Agency of Brazil is executing a research program
by investigating 24 different oil plant producers. These are 24 plants that are already
in use for the production of bio-diesel. These will be monitored to state the
environmental impact of agriculture activities. This project has not succeeded yet
even though research has been going on for 7 years.
11 DISCUSSION
As mentioned in my report earlier, sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil is taking
over rapidly. The use of flex-fuel cars are becoming more and more popular in Brazil.
This suggests that the sugarcane ethanol will be in demand and will also increase in
price in the next 8 to 10 years. Because ethanol production is becoming so popular
more industries need to be built. This results in the land area needed for the
sugarcane plantation to double. To achieve this, 237 million hectares of pastureland
is being rehabilitated. At the moment there are 2.9 million hectares being used for
sugarcane ethanol production.
The main concerns for the expansion of the sugarcane plantation area is that this
might lead to deforestation. This point has not been proven, so there is no evidence
indicating ethanol production is detrimental.
Although the pastureland is being taken over for new industries, farmers make sure
there is adequate space left for the habitat of cattles. However, due to the
disturbances caused by the workers (e.g. noise pollution) will ultimately cause the
cattle to migrate from its natural habitat to the Amazon. This will encourage the
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farmers to invade the empty pastureland. This process will turn in to a vicious cycle
leading to more deforestation, which will ultimately result in the natural habitats of the
Amazon being completely destroyed. This theory is not a major concern at this
moment in time,

because the rate at which the land is increasing is to take approximately 10 years for
any real effect to take place.




12 CONCLUSION








13 REFERENCE

1. Ayhan Demirbas (2009) Biofuels: Securing the planets future energy needs
London Springer

2. Wim Soetaert, ed. Erick Vandamme (2009) Biofuels Oxford Wiley

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3. R. B. Gupta and A. Demirbas, Gasoline, Diesel, and Ethanol Biofuels From
Grasses and Plants (Cambridge, 2010)

4. Martha J. Groom, Elizabeth M. Gray, Patricia A. Townsend (2008) Biofuels
and Biodiversity: Principles for Creating Better Policies for Biofuel Production
pages 602-609.

5. http://www.bp.com/en/global/alternative-energy/our-
businesses/biofuels/biofuels-operations-technologies/brazil-ethanol-from-
sugarcane.html

6. http://www.shell.com/global/environment-society/environment/climate-
change/biofuels-alternative-energies-transport/biofuels/raizen/sugar-cane-to-
ethanol-animation.html

7. http://www.nicaraguasugar.com/en/what-we-produce/ethanol/production-
process/

8. http://www.scidev.net/global/policy/feature/sugarcane-ethanol-brazils-biofuel-
success.html

9. http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/07-1813.1
10. http://sugarcane.org/resource-library/studies?b_start:int=20

11. http://www.bbest.org.br/2011/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id
=75&Itemid=68

12. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-biofuels.html

13. http://www.navigantresearch.com/research/advanced-biofuels-country-
rankings

14. http://www.navigantresearch.com/newsroom/access-to-low-cost-feedstocks-
remains-a-key-barrier-to-wider-adoption-of-biofuels

15. http://dc.itamaraty.gov.br/imagens-e-textos/Biocombustiveis-03ing-
biocombustiveisnobrasil.pdf

16. http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/jtrc/discussionpapers/DiscussionPa
per5.pdf
.
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/content/1/1/6