Biomass and SD: Ethanol in Brazil, a single case (André S. Pereira and Emilio L. La Rovere)
1. Public subsidies, now phased out, were fundamental to the Ethanol Program in Brazil. But such public
effort would be in vain if the subsidized sector hadn’t invested in R&D looking for productivity growth
and technical progress, which have been verified in sugarcane crops, in sugarcane processing and inethanol fired and flex fuel cars manufacturing.
2. High level oil prices, energy security concerns and the global GHG emissions reduction efforts havebeen pushing domestic production and exports.
3. According to government scenarios, ethanol production in Brazil is expected to grow from 18 billion
litters to reach 67 billion liters in 2030, of which 12 billion liters would be exported. To make it in asustainable way is a non-negligible challenge.
4. Kojima & Johnson (2005) show that gasoline/anhydrous ethanol blend are heavier taxed than hydrous
ethanol in Brazil. This taxing policy is a very good example of how government may act if he wants tohave some influence on ethanol demand levels in Brazil. The question is to know if the current policy oftaxing gasoline/anhydrous ethanol blend heavier than hydrous ethanol would be enough to foster demandor if this policy would have to be deepened in order to do so.
5. A technological breakthrough in ethanol production would be using the cellulose contained in thebagasse as an input. This may double or triple ethanol productivity per hectare, and also reduce land needs
in a high production scenario. (For instance, the main ethanol production equipment manufacturer in Brazil
claims that after twenty years of development, the flash acid hydrolysis is now able to deliver 109 to 180
liters of additional ethanol per ton of bagasse, at competitive costs, based upon results obtained at its 5,000liters/day demonstration plant, yet to be scaled-up to 50,000 liters/day. This may nearly double ethanol
output per hectare, supplying additional up to 5,600 liters/ha/year on the top of current 6,800 liters/ha.year
yield (Fairbanks, 2003). This new market for bagasse would also favor an optimization of energy use at thedistilleries, allowing for maximizing bagasse surplus after meeting the heat and power process needs.
6. Pre-harvest burnings are still a problem for local air pollution next to sugar cane fields, but the practicehas been progressively banned in São Paulo State, where 60 % of the production is located. This allows fora more efficient use of the sugar cane biomass (the straw and the bagasse).
7. Bagasse is already a very important energy source in its own right, used for generating heat andelectricity. The increase of energy efficiency in this process may add almost 100 TWh/year to the system,
considering present levels of sugar cane production, and this only with bagasse. If 20% of the straw is also
used (most of the straw should be left in the field for agronomic reasons), this extra supply might reach 140
TWh/year.
8. In Brazil, not only ethanol production tends to increase. Biodiesel has also a great potential to bedeveloped. As for the ethanol case, at the beginning, public policies and investments are necessary anddesirable to foster investments and futures economies of scale, productivity gains and to improve its
contribution to sustainable development. The Biodiesel National Program intends to fill this gap, learningfrom the ethanol program experience. However, much has to be done yet in further detailing its guidelines
to reach a consistent regulatory framework.
9. There is also scope for a potential synergy between biodiesel and ethanol programs. According to Dedini,building a biodiesel transestherification unit integrated to an ethanol distillery may reduce investment costs
by 20% to 25% (Olivério, 2005).
10. Ethanol fuel in Brazil contributes to energy matrix diversification. Moreover, it also contributes toimprove reliability of internal energy supply, to reduce balance of payments problems related to fossil fuel1

imports, to foster sustainable long term energy supply, to promote regional social development and toreduce local pollution and GHG emissions.
11. Even though those positive externalities are evident in the Brazilian case, they are very difficult to bequantified. If so, these externalities might foster even faster biofuels development.
12. Biofuels development represents a major opportunity to rethink rural development and to promote a
new rural development cycle, especially in Brazil due to its natural advantages, which include the largest
biodiversity in the world, the largest land area still free to agricultural use and several different climatesand excellent hydro resources (Sachs, 2004).
13. Biofuels are only a part of biomass use. Biomass can be used to produce not only biofuels but also food,fibres, plastics, construction materials, industrial feedstock and pharmaceuticals. Several developing
countries can foster their development on the condition of exploring their biodiversity. Biotechnology
should be used both to enhance biomass output and to widen the spectrum of its by-products. In this way,such countries “may engage ahead of industrial countries into a genuinely sustainable and fairly labour
intensive development pattern, on the condition of respecting the rules for an ecologically soundmanagement of forests, land and water” (Sachs, 2004).
14. On the long run, it is important to conduct a strategic social and environmental assessment ofsugarcane production expansion, with an appropriate zoning, in order to ensure biofuels development
sustainability. Air, soil and water pollution, soil erosion, impact on food prices and in land use, especiallydeforestation; energy balances; LCA and well-to-wheels analysis for GHG emissions reductions estimatesand social conditions of manual workers are the questions at stake.
15. Sugar cane ethanol in Brazil is unique case. The energy and GHG balances are definitely very
favorable due to some local factors, such as agricultural practices, including low fossil fuel use; a highyield of the culture per hectare; a high yield of fuel per unit of feedstock processed; and a large use ofsugarcane biomass to replace fossil energy in the ethanol processing. Therefore, the positive conclusions ofsugar cane ethanol in Brazil might be not applicable to other biofuels.
16. It is worth therefore quoting IPCC 4AR WGIII SPM “Biofuels might play an important role inaddressing GHG emissions in the transport sector, depending on their production pathway”
References
La Rovere, E.L (1981) "Les Impacts Sociaux et Écologiques du Plan Alcool Brésilien", in Économie etHumanisme, no 260, p. 36-47. Paris.
La Rovere, E.L, Pereira, A.S., Simões, A.F. Biofuels and Sustainable Energy Development in Brazil,
Forthcoming
Fairbanks, M. (2003). Tecnologia amplia oferta e reduz custo do álcool. Revista Química e Derivados n417 July 2003,
Olivério, J. L (2005) Dedini has sold the first biodiesel plant integrated to ethanol and sugar mills in theworld. Personal communication.
Sachs, I. (2004) Inclusive development and decent work for all. International Labour Review; 143(1-2):
161-84.
Kojima, M., Johnson, T. (2005). Potential for Biofuels for Transport in Developing Countries. ESMAP.
UNDP - United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank. October.
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