Oscar Braunbeck, Isaias Macedo and Luis A. B. Cortez

6.1. BIOMASS AVAILABILITY CAN BE ENHANCED IN BRAZIL

The most important biomass sources in Brazil are sugarcane and forest residues. The Brazilian sugar industry is almost as old as the country itself. It was based on traditional production systems for many centuries but had a turning point in 1930 when president Vargas created the Sugar and Alcohol Institute (IAA). The earliest experiments utilizing cane ethanol date from that period. However, radical changes would not take place until the Brazilian Alcohol Program (PROALCOOL) was created in the 1970s, leading to a significant expansion of sugarcane plantations in Brazil.

Today, Brazil is the largest sugarcane producer in the world, being responsible for nearly 25 per cent of the total cane production, 13.5 per cent of the sugar production and 55 per cent of the world’s ethanol. The cultivated area covered by sugarcane plantations reaches more than 5 million ha or 1.5 per cent of the total arable land in the country. Sugarcane production reached 340 million tons of cane in the 2003/04 season resulting in 24 million tons of sugar and 14 billion liters of ethanol.

The ethanol industry provides fuel for approximately four million cars driven exclusively with ethanol and approximately 24 per cent of the fuel being used in the rest of the country’s car fleet. The sugar and ethanol industry generates a turn over of US$ 12 billion and creates 600000 direct jobs in activities from agriculture to industry. It is a sector almost entirely owned by local entrepreneurs that has a significant potential to increase its participation in the country’s economy through a more intensive use of by-products.

Traditionally, sugarcane has been harvested by hand requiring the elimination of leaves by combustion in the fields. The cane-burning technique destroys nearly 25 to 30 per cent of the energy potential in the cane, which is a strong drawback seen from the perspective of the surplus energy that can be generated. However, environmental laws are being issued restricting cane burning, especially near urban areas, which is paving the way for green cane harvesting practices. By green cane harvesting, we

75 Bioenergy — Realizing the Potential

© 2005 Dr Semida Silveira Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

mean that the burning process is eliminated allowing for the full utilization of the cane biomass material. Green cane harvesting will require a significant move towards mechanization, a process that has only started in the Brazilian sugarcane sector.

In this chapter, we evaluate the technologies available for green cane harvesting, how they need to be improved, and how they can help enhance the biomass available for energy conversion in Brazil. We analyze some of the difficulties and barriers that need to be addressed in favor of the adoption of such technologies. We focus particularly on the technological barriers, showing how productivity of sugarcane production systems can be improved, while also helping improve the overall economy of this industry.