Pery Francisco Assis Shikida, Adele Finco, Barbara Fran^oise Cardoso, Valdir Antonio Galante, Daliane Rahmeier, Deborah Bentivoglio and Michele Rasetti

Abstract Industrialized countries’ dependence on fossil fuels has been distressing for a long time for countries that do not have self-sufficiency, whether for environ­mental, economic, geopolitical, or other reasons. In this context, it is understood that the burning of fossil fuels contributes to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) increasing the risk of intensifying climatic disturbances that can deteriorate the processes of production, consumption, and welfare in the world. Therefore, the development of alternative energy sources can provide solutions for the gaps, since reducing exposure to the vulnerability of supply and price volatility, environmental issues, and even the development of new investment opportunities in these coun­tries. This is due to the possibility of developing innovations in the production and processing industry, which would contribute to the economic activity. Thus, increasing the use of bioenergy is one of the existing ways to reconcile the need to [7] [8]

expand the supply of energy with the slowdown in global warming, i. e., the most important and disseminated use would be the biomass power generated by the consumption of biofuels, once it reduces GGE emissions.

1 Introduction

Global ethanol and biodiesel production are projected to expand at a slower pace than in the past. Ethanol markets are dominated by the USA, Brazil, and, to a smaller extent, the European Union. Biodiesel markets will likely remain domi­nated by the European Union and followed by the USA, Argentina, and Brazil.

The world biofuels production reached almost 124 billion liters in 2011; 80 % of that global production of liquid biofuels consists of ethanol and 20 % consists of biodiesel. The European Union produced in 2011 about 9.5 million metric tons of biodiesel, but in 2011, the production decreased about 10 % compared to 2010. However, the share of biodiesel is rapidly increasing due to emergence of new pro­ducing countries in Southeast Asia. The USA and Brazil are the largest ethanol producers, with 54 and 34 % of global ethanol output in 2009, respectively; while the European Union accounts for 57 % of global biodiesel production.

Brazil is the world’s second biggest producer of fuel ethanol (about 23 billion liters in 2011) and the world’s biggest exporter of fuel ethanol. The production started in the early 1970s by a program which led to the development caused by local automobile companies with flex-fuel engine technology. Presently, around half of all Brazilian cars use these hybrid engines, which can run with any mixture of pure ethanol and gasohol (around 80 % gasoline and 20 % ethanol). In 2010, cars used nearly equal volumes of gasoline and ethanol.

The chapter aims at revisiting the recent developments in biofuels markets and their economic and environmental impacts. The analysis compares the perfor­mance of ethanol versus biodiesel produced in Brazil and Europe, respectively.

This chapter is organized as it follows: Sects. 2 and 3 discuss the scenario of Brazilian ethanol and European biodiesel in terms of policies, production, sup­ply, and demand. Section 4 examines the environmental impacts of both biofuels. Finally, we draw key conclusion.