IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v43y2015icp687-701.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Why small-scale fuel ethanol production in Brazil does not take off?

Author

Listed:
  • Mayer, Flávio Dias
  • Feris, Liliana Amaral
  • Marcilio, Nilson Romeu
  • Hoffmann, Ronaldo

Abstract

Ethanol production on small scale (on-farm) substantially contributes to the effort to replace fossil fuels. However, the share of small scale production remains incipient, either due to inefficiency in the process or legal restrictions on the commercialization of hydrous ethanol fuel. The aim of this paper is to justify this incipient industry by detailing the small-scale ethanol production process and presenting operational data collected in the literature from the last three decades. The reviewed data showed that the inefficiency of the process affects the economic feasibility by product losses in bagasse and vinasse or through excessive energy consumption. The feasibility of ethanol production on small scale requires addressing these technological obstacles through the integral use of co-products.

Suggested Citation

  • Mayer, Flávio Dias & Feris, Liliana Amaral & Marcilio, Nilson Romeu & Hoffmann, Ronaldo, 2015. "Why small-scale fuel ethanol production in Brazil does not take off?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 687-701.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:43:y:2015:i:c:p:687-701
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2014.11.076
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032114010156
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2014.11.076?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chalmers, Jessica & Archer, Greg, 2011. "Development of a sustainability reporting scheme for biofuels: A UK case study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 5682-5689, October.
    2. Rajcaniova, Miroslava & Drabik, Dusan & Ciaian, Pavel, 2013. "How policies affect international biofuel price linkages," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 857-865.
    3. Ferreira, L.S. & Rodrigues, M.S. & Converti, A. & Sato, S. & Carvalho, J.C.M., 2012. "Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis cultivation in tubular photobioreactor: Use of no-cost CO2 from ethanol fermentation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 379-385.
    4. Puppim de Oliveira, J. A., 2002. "The policymaking process for creating competitive assets for the use of biomass energy: the Brazilian alcohol programme," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 6(1-2), pages 129-140.
    5. Sorda, Giovanni & Banse, Martin & Kemfert, Claudia, 2010. "An overview of biofuel policies across the world," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 6977-6988, November.
    6. Koizumi, Tatsuji, 2013. "Biofuel and food security in China and Japan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 102-109.
    7. Azadi, Hossein & de Jong, Sanne & Derudder, Ben & De Maeyer, Philippe & Witlox, Frank, 2012. "Bitter sweet: How sustainable is bio-ethanol production in Brazil?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 3599-3603.
    8. Mack, J. Hunter & Aceves, Salvador M. & Dibble, Robert W., 2009. "Demonstrating direct use of wet ethanol in a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 782-787.
    9. Rico, Julieta A. Puerto & Mercedes, Sonia S.P. & Sauer, Ildo L., 2010. "Genesis and consolidation of the Brazilian bioethanol: A review of policies and incentive mechanisms," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(7), pages 1874-1887, September.
    10. Walter, Arnaldo & Dolzan, Paulo & Quilodrán, Oscar & de Oliveira, Janaína G. & da Silva, Cinthia & Piacente, Fabrício & Segerstedt, Anna, 2011. "Sustainability assessment of bio-ethanol production in Brazil considering land use change, GHG emissions and socio-economic aspects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 5703-5716, October.
    11. Dantas, Guilherme A. & Legey, Luiz F.L. & Mazzone, Antonella, 2013. "Energy from sugarcane bagasse in Brazil: An assessment of the productivity and cost of different technological routes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 356-364.
    12. Janssen, Rainer & Rutz, Dominik Damian, 2011. "Sustainability of biofuels in Latin America: Risks and opportunities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 5717-5725, October.
    13. Ravindranath, N.H. & Sita Lakshmi, C. & Manuvie, Ritumbra & Balachandra, P., 2011. "Biofuel production and implications for land use, food production and environment in India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 5737-5745, October.
    14. Mathews, John A. & Tan, Hao & Moore, Michael J.B. & Bell, Geoff, 2011. "A conceptual lignocellulosic 'feed+fuel' biorefinery and its application to the linked biofuel and cattle raising industries in Brazil," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 4932-4938, September.
    15. Lopes Silva, Diogo Aparecido & Delai, Ivete & Delgado Montes, Mary Laura & Roberto Ometto, Aldo, 2014. "Life cycle assessment of the sugarcane bagasse electricity generation in Brazil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 532-547.
    16. Daianova, L. & Dotzauer, E. & Thorin, E. & Yan, J., 2012. "Evaluation of a regional bioenergy system with local production of biofuel for transportation, integrated with a CHP plant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 739-749.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Arielle Muniz Kubota & João Guilherme Dal Belo Leite & Marcos Watanabe & Otávio Cavalett & Manoel Regis Lima Verde Leal & Luis Cortez, 2017. "The Role of Small-Scale Biofuel Production in Brazil: Lessons for Developing Countries," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-12, July.
    2. Avelino Gonçalves, Fabiano & dos Santos, Everaldo Silvino & de Macedo, Gorete Ribeiro, 2015. "Use of cultivars of low cost, agroindustrial and urban waste in the production of cellulosic ethanol in Brazil: A proposal to utilization of microdistillery," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1287-1303.
    3. Hanniel Ferreira Sarmento de Freitas & José Eduardo Olivo & Cid Marcos Gonçalves Andrade, 2017. "Optimization of Bioethanol In Silico Production Process in a Fed-Batch Bioreactor Using Non-Linear Model Predictive Control and Evolutionary Computation Techniques," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-23, November.
    4. Awad, Omar I. & Ali, Obed M. & Mamat, Rizalman & Abdullah, A.A. & Najafi, G. & Kamarulzaman, M.K. & Yusri, I.M. & Noor, M.M., 2017. "Using fusel oil as a blend in gasoline to improve SI engine efficiencies: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1232-1242.
    5. El Montasser, Ghassen & Gupta, Rangan & Martins, Andre Luis & Wanke, Peter, 2015. "Are there multiple bubbles in the ethanol–gasoline price ratio of Brazil?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 19-23.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gonzalez-Salazar, Miguel Angel & Venturini, Mauro & Poganietz, Witold-Roger & Finkenrath, Matthias & L.V. Leal, Manoel Regis, 2017. "Combining an accelerated deployment of bioenergy and land use strategies: Review and insights for a post-conflict scenario in Colombia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 159-177.
    2. Çağatay, Selim & Taşdoğan, Celal & Özeş, Reyhan, 2017. "Analysing the impact of targeted bio-ethanol blending ratio in Turkey," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 6(2), September.
    3. Geraldes Castanheira, Érica & Grisoli, Renata & Freire, Fausto & Pecora, Vanessa & Coelho, Suani Teixeira, 2014. "Environmental sustainability of biodiesel in Brazil," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 680-691.
    4. Avelino Gonçalves, Fabiano & dos Santos, Everaldo Silvino & de Macedo, Gorete Ribeiro, 2015. "Use of cultivars of low cost, agroindustrial and urban waste in the production of cellulosic ethanol in Brazil: A proposal to utilization of microdistillery," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1287-1303.
    5. Santos, V.E.N. & Ely, R.N. & Szklo, A.S. & Magrini, A., 2016. "Chemicals, electricity and fuels from biorefineries processing Brazil׳s sugarcane bagasse: Production recipes and minimum selling prices," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1443-1458.
    6. Castro, P. & Pedroso, R. & Lautenbach, S. & Vicens, R., 2020. "Farmland abandonment in Rio de Janeiro: Underlying and contributory causes of an announced development," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    7. Štěpán Chrz & Karel Janda & Ladislav Krištoufek, 2014. "Modelování provázanosti trhů potravin, biopaliv a fosilních paliv [Modeling Interconnections within Food, Biofuel, and Fossil Fuel Markets]," Politická ekonomie, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2014(1), pages 117-140.
    8. Raele, Ricardo & Boaventura, João Mauricio Gama & Fischmann, Adalberto Américo & Sarturi, Greici, 2014. "Scenarios for the second generation ethanol in Brazil," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 205-223.
    9. Schut, Marc & Cunha Soares, Núria & van de Ven, Gerrie & Slingerland, Maja, 2014. "Multi-actor governance of sustainable biofuels in developing countries: The case of Mozambique," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 631-643.
    10. Silva-Martínez, Rodolfo Daniel & Sanches-Pereira, Alessandro & Ortiz, Willington & Gómez Galindo, Maria Fernanda & Coelho, Suani Teixeira, 2020. "The state-of-the-art of organic waste to energy in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges and opportunities," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 509-525.
    11. Oliveira, Gustavo de L.T. & McKay, Ben & Plank, Christina, 2017. "How biofuel policies backfire: Misguided goals, inefficient mechanisms, and political-ecological blind spots," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 765-775.
    12. Ge, Jianping & Lei, Yalin & Tokunaga, Suminori, 2014. "Non-grain fuel ethanol expansion and its effects on food security: A computable general equilibrium analysis for China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 346-356.
    13. Araujo Enciso, Sergio René & Fellmann, Thomas & Pérez Dominguez, Ignacio & Santini, Fabien, 2016. "Abolishing biofuel policies: Possible impacts on agricultural price levels, price variability and global food security," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 9-26.
    14. de Barros, Marisa Maia & Szklo, Alexandre, 2015. "Petroleum refining flexibility and cost to address the risk of ethanol supply disruptions: The case of Brazil," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 20-31.
    15. A. Khoodaruth, 2016. "Contribution of the sugar cane industry to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the energy sector: the case of Mauritius," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 1719-1731, December.
    16. Stattman, Sarah L. & Hospes, Otto & Mol, Arthur P.J., 2013. "Governing biofuels in Brazil: A comparison of ethanol and biodiesel policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 22-30.
    17. Brinkman, Marnix L.J. & da Cunha, Marcelo P. & Heijnen, Sanne & Wicke, Birka & Guilhoto, Joaquim J.M. & Walter, Arnaldo & Faaij, André P.C. & van der Hilst, Floor, 2018. "Interregional assessment of socio-economic effects of sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 347-362.
    18. Iskandar Ali Alam & Hairani Hairani & Faurani Santi Singagerda, 2019. "Price Determination Model of World Vegetable and Petroleum," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 9(5), pages 157-177.
    19. Lilibeth A. Acosta & Damasa B. Magcale-Macandog & K. S. Kavi Kumar & Xuefeng Cui & Elena A. Eugenio & Paula Beatrice M. Macandog & Arnold R. Salvacion & Jemimah Mae A. Eugenio, 2016. "The Role of Bioenergy in Enhancing Energy, Food and Ecosystem Sustainability Based on Societal Perceptions and Preferences in Asia," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-26, April.
    20. Singh, Omendra Kumar, 2019. "Exergy analysis of a grid-connected bagasse-based cogeneration plant of sugar factory and exhaust heat utilization for running a cold storage," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 149-163.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:43:y:2015:i:c:p:687-701. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.