Sugar cane

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Bioenergy > Feedstocks > Ethanol feedstocks > Sugar cane

Sugarcane is a tall perennial grass with a thick stalk that stores energy in the form of sucrose. Although native to Asia, commercial cultivars of sugarcane are grown throughout the tropics for sugar, ethanol, molasses, rum, and other products. After the stalks are crushed and the sugary sap is removed, the remaining fibrous plant cellulose (called bagasse) can be burned to produce electricity, or may be used for paper, cardboard and other products.

Note: Another key sucrose-producing plant used as a feedstock for ethanol is sugar beet.

Sugarcane can be used for ethanol production.

History

• The United States and Brazil are the two largest ethanol producers in the world, accounting for nearly 90 percent of global production. Brazil is the leading exporter of ethanol, using sugarcane for feedstock. In 2007, 8.4 million acres of farmland in Brazil were devoted exclusively to sugarcane production for ethanol. [1]

• In 2007-2008 Brazil produced 5,916 million gallons of ethanol and in 2008-2009 production is estimated to reach 7,054 million gallons. By 2012 annual ethanol production in Brazil is expected to reach 10 million gallons. [2]

• Sugarcane-based bioethanol has a better energy input to output ratio than other current biofuels (1:8). [3]

• Bioethanol from sugar cane is estimated to have a greenhouse gas emission reduction potential of 75% to 90%, compared with fossil fuels. [4]

• Sugarcane-based ethanol is almost entirely renewable, since sugarcane fibers or "bagasse" can provide 100% of the energy required in the industrial phase of ethanol production. [5]

Sustainability

Relative GHG emissions reduction potentials for ethanol by feedstock type. These estimates refer to direct emissions only, and do not include emissions from land use change. Source: Worldwatch Issue Brief: U.S. Biofuels: Climate Change and Policies (PDF file)

• The Better Sugarcane Initiative (BSI) - BSI "is a collaboration of progressive sugarcane retailers, investors, traders, producers and NGOs who are committed to developing internationally-applicable measures and baselines that define sustainable sugar cane. BSI is an international initiative with the Steering Committee based around the world."^[1]

• Concerns have been raised about negative environmental and social impacts of sugar cane based biofuels in a coastal wetland in Kenya. [6]

• Small farmers to join Brazil sustainable cane move, 1 September 2008, by Reuters: "Dozens of small and medium-scale farmers in Brazil's Sao Paulo state will grow sugar cane certified as meeting strict social and environmental standards, the region's cane producers association said late on Thursday."
  • Sugarcane suppliers joining the program "must refuse the use of child or slave labor, limit their use of agrochemicals, and gather their cane with mechanical harvesters as opposed to cutting it manually. Manual cutting involves burning the plant's foliage, which pollutes the air."[7]

Environmental sustainability

• Swedish bioenergy company SEKAB received the 2009 Sustainable Bioethanol Award at the World Biofuels Markets Conference and Exhibition in Brussels for its development of Verified Sustainable Ethanol with Brazilian ethanol producers.

Biodiversity

• Sugarcane farming in Brazil is not found to contribute directly to deforestation in the Amazon rain forest. There is concern, however, that as demand for bioethanol increases, expanding cane plantations may displace other food crops such as soybeans, rice, and corn as well as pasture land, shifting these activities north to the forest edge and threatening future habitat loss. [8]

Pollution

• In Brazil, although federal laws have been passed to ban the practice, it is commonplace for sugarcane fields to be burned prior to harvest to "facilitate harvesting, fertilize fields with ash and remove venomous animals and reptiles".[9] This burning of cane and field residues results in air pollution in certain sugarcane producing regions of Brazil that is reported to cause respiratory problems in local populations. [10]

Academic papers

• Joint Water Quantity/Quality Management Analysis in a Biofuel Production Area (PDF) by Márcia Maria Guedes Alcoforado de Moraes, Ximing Cai, Claudia Ringler, Bruno Edson Albuquerque, Sérgio P. Vieira da Rocha and Carlos Alberto Amorim for the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), May 2009.

• Brazilian Ethanol: A Gift or Threat to the Environment and Regional Development? (PDF) by Sriniketh Nagavarapu at the Department of Economics, Stanford University, January 2008. This reports looks at regional issues in Brazil relating to sugarcane and ethanol production such as economics, regional inequality, threats to forests and US import barriers.

• The Economic Feasibility of Ethanol Production From Sugar in the United States (PDF) - USDA, principal authors are Dr. Hossein Shapouri, and Dr. Michael Salassi, July 2006.

• Sustainability of Brazilian Bioethanol (PDF) by Edward Smeets, Martin Junginger, André Faaij (Utrecht University); Arnaldo Walter, Paulo Dolzan (State University of Campinas); commissioned by SenterNovem, The Netherlands Agency for Sustainable Development and Innovation, August 2006.

• The Sustainability of Brazilian Sugarcane Bioethanol: A Literature Review - Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, by Andrew Barber, Glenys Pellow, and Mariana de Aragao Pereira, May 2008.

• Sugarcane Based Bioethanol: Energy for Sustainable Development - BNDES and CGEE, www.sugarcanebioethanol.org, 1st Edition, November 2008.

News

2010

• Global Renewable Capacity Continues to Grow in 2009, Fueled by Policy and Ongoing Investment, 15 July 2010 by REN21: "REN21 is pleased to release its annual publication – the Renewables 2010 Global Status Report (PDF file)".
  • "The year 2009 was unprecedented in the history of renewable energy, despite the headwinds posed by the global financial crisis, lower oil prices, and slow progress with climate policy....Annual production of ethanol and biodiesel increased 10% and 9%, respectively, despite layoffs and ethanol plant closures in the United States and Brazil."
  • "Highlights of 2009 include:
    • "Biofuels production contributed the energy equivalent of 5% of world gasoline output."
    • "Investment in new biofuels plants declined from 2008 rates, as corn ethanol production capacity was not fully utilized in the United States and several firms went bankrupt. The Brazilian sugar ethanol industry likewise faced economic troubles, with no growth despite ongoing expansion plans."[11]
  • Download the full report, Renewables Global Status Report 2010 (PDF file)

• FAO Releases Report on Bioenergy and Food Security in Tanzania, June 2010 by Climate-L.org: "The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has released a report on “Bioenergy and Food Security: The BEFS Analysis for Tanzania,” which aims to support the development of bioenergy policies that are aligned with Tanzania’s poverty reduction and food security strategies."
  • "The BEFS analytical framework is composed of five components: biomass potential; biofuel supply chain production costs; agriculture markets; economy wide impacts; and household level food security. The Tanzania case study examines: cassava, sugar cane, palm oil, jatropha, sweet sorghum and sunflower for bioenergy analyses; and maize, cassava and rice for food security analyses."[12]
    • Download the full report: Bioenergy and Food Security: The BEFS Analysis for Tanzania

• METI Releases Report on Sustainability Standards for Biofuels, 14 June 2010 by Japan for Sustainability: "Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of the Environment jointly organized the 'Study Group on Sustainability Standards for the Introduction of Biofuels,' and released the report on March 5, 2010."
  • One of the key findings of the report concerned results of life-cycle analyses of carbon dioxide emissions associated with biofuels. It was found that, in comparison "with CO2 emissions from gasoline, only sugar cane produced at existing sites in Brazil and domestic produce such as sugar beet, as well as construction waste, meet reduction standards on an LCA basis of more than 50 percent. A future direction for Japan is to set reduction standards on an LCA basis of 50 percent."[13]
  • See the METI press release, Report of the Study Group on Sustainability Standards for the Introduction of Biofuel

• Brazilian Senator Marina Silva comments on sugarcane ethanol in Washington, DC press conference, 26 April 2010 by BioenergyWiki staff (Rachel Kramer & Melina Unger): "We are not going to meet the world’s energy demands with sugarcane ethanol, but Brazil can make a great contribution," said Senator Silva.
  • When questioned about potential sustainability and deforestation concerns related to land use change for increased ethanol production from sugarcane, Senator Silva commented on the need for a national certification system to guarantee demand for ethanol would not compromise food production (expansion of sugarcane farming is currently prohibited in the Pantanal and Amazon regions).

• Biofuels cause four times more carbon emissions, 22 April 2010 by the Telegraph (UK): A "new report commissioned in Brussels found some biofuels can lead to four times more carbon dioxide polluting the atmosphere than equivalent fossil fuels."
  • "The report for the European Commission, released under Freedom of Information rules, looked into the 'indirect emissions' from biofuels caused by land use change. The worse example is soy beans in America. Because the land that used to grow soy beans for animal feed is now being used for biofuels, it means that more soy beans must be grown in the rainforests of Brazil to make up for the loss in the domestic market."
  • "Soybeans grown in America therefore have an indirect carbon footprint of 340kg of CO2 per gigajoule, compared to just 85kg for conventional diesel or gasoline."
  • "By contrast, imports of bioethanol from Latin American sugar cane and palm oil from southeast Asia have relatively low indirect emissions at 82kg and 73kg per gigajoule respectively."[14]
  • Read the full report, Quantification of the effects on greenhouse gas emissions of policies and measures (PDF file)

• Rival Ethanol Trade Groups Campaigning to Woo Senators, Clobber Each Other, 13 April 2010 by Greenwire/New York Times: "Two rival trade groups seeking congressional help for the ethanol industry launched advertising yesterday to promote themselves and bash one another."
  • "Growth Energy Inc., which represents U.S.-based corn ethanol producers, seeks to maintain supremacy at home, while the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, or UNICA, wants to tear down corn ethanol's benefits in order to grab a larger share of the U.S. market."
  • "UNICA seeks elimination of the import tariff and of domestic subsidies for biofuels."
  • UNICA hopes "'the Sweeter Alternative campaign will help Americans understand how sugar-cane ethanol is a clean and affordable renewable fuel that could help them save money at the pump, cut U.S. dependence on Middle East oil and improve the environment,' said Joel Velasco, UNICA's chief representative in North America, in a statement."[15]

• Brazil "temporarily" lifts ethanol tariff, baits trade hooks, 8 April 2010 by Nik Bristow at Autoblog Green: "In a gesture to improve biofuel trade relations with the U.S. and other countries, Brazil's Council of Ministers of the Board of Foreign Trade (MDIC) has temporarily lifted the country's tariff on imported ethanol, changing the tax rate from 20 percent to zero percent. The tariff will be lifted through the end of 2011."
  • "UNICA [The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association] has made it clear to the Brazilian government it hopes the tariff reduction is permanent, particularly should "other countries" reduce their tariffs on ethanol imports. The Brazillians are quite aware that the hefty U.S. tariff on imported ethanol expires at the end of this year."
  • "The United States imposes two duties on ethanol imports: a 2.5 percent ad valorem tariff plus an additional "other duty or charge" of $.54 per gallon. According to data from the US International Trade Commission (ITC), the combined duties have amounted to about a 30 percent tariff on ethanol imports."[16]

• Amazon rainforest will bear cost of biofuel policies in Brazil, 8 February 2010 by Mongabay: "Business-as-usual agricultural expansion to meet biofuel production targets for 2020 will take a heavy toll on Brazil's Amazon rainforest in coming years, undermining the potential emissions savings of transitioning from fossil fuels to biofuels, warns a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The research suggests that intensification of cattle ranching, combined with efforts to promote high-yielding oil crops like oil palm could lessen forecast greenhouse gas emissions from indirect land use in the region."
  • The researchers find "that while relatively little forest land will be directly converted for biofuel production, large swathes of rainforest and cerrado will be indirectly impacted through displacement of cattle ranching, presently the dominant form of land use in the Brazilian Amazon."
  • "'To fill the biofuel production targets for 2020, sugarcane would require an additional 57,200 [square kilometers] and soybean an additional 108,100 sq km. Roughly 88% of this expansion (145,700 sq km) would take place in areas previously used as rangeland,' the authors write."
  • The authors "'argue that to avoid the undesired indirect land-use change by biofuels presented here, strategies for cooperation between the cattle ranching and biofuel-growing sectors should be implemented".[17]
  • See the PNAS paper, Lapola et al. Indirect land-use changes can overcome carbon savings from biofuels in Brazil.

• Brazil proposes banning sugarcane in Amazon, 18 September 2009 by the COP 15 Copenhagen Website: "Brazil's president is proposing a plan to prohibit sugarcane-ethanol plantations in the Amazon and other ecologically sensitive areas."
  • "The plan unveiled Thursday would limit sugarcane plantations to 18 percent of Brazilian territory. They would also be banned from food-growing areas and the vast Pantanal wetlands bordering Bolivia."[18]

2009

• Korean firms set to invest $475M on biofuel plants, 29 May 2009 by BusinessWorld: Manila, Philippines--local firms sign "an agreement with South Korean companies to put up two biofuel plants costing a combined $475 million."
  • Two agreements signed for bioethanol and biodiesel production.
  • "...bioethanol producer Enviro Plasma, Ltd. and Central Luzon Bioenergy Corp. will put up a 500,000-liter per day bioethanol plant worth $300 million in Clark, Pampanga with sugarcane feedstock from 46,000 hectares of plantation..."
  • "South Korean biodiesel producer Eco Solutions Co., Ltd. and partner Eco Global Bio-Oils, Inc. will invest $175 million to put up a biodiesel plant capable of producing 100,000 liters of biodiesel per day...Eco Solutions had committed to invest at least 100,000 hectares to plant jatropha".

• Brazil Can Protect Amazon as Crop Output Expands, Unger Says, 15 April 2009 by Bloomberg News: "Brazil can protect its Amazon rainforest and boost agricultural output by planting crops in areas now used for low-intensity ranching, Minister of Strategic Affairs Roberto Mangabeira Unger said."
  • "Brazil, the world’s second-biggest soybean grower, yesterday renewed a ban on sales of the oilseed planted illegally in the Amazon rainforest."
  • "Brazil is also the world’s biggest beef exporter and the biggest coffee and sugar-cane grower."[19]

• Brazil wants help lifting US ethanol tariffs, 17 March 2009 by the International Herald Tribune: "Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday implored American businessmen to help convince the United States to lift the 53-cent-per-gallon import tariff it places on his country's ethanol fuel."
  • Silva, "who met with President Barack Obama on Saturday, has made little progress persuading the U.S. to reduce the tariffs, which are in place to protect American farmers who make ethanol from corn. Brazil makes ethanol from sugar, in a process that is much more efficient and costs less."
  • "Silva also defended biofuels as a way to fight poverty, pointing out that while drilling for oil requires expensive investment, planting sugar cane is cheap and easy for small producers in tropical countries from Brazil to Africa."[20]

2008

Countries

• Brazil
• Kenya
• Mozambique

Organizations

• Ethical sugar - (English), French), (Spanish), (Portuguese)

Events

• 9-10 March 2009, Araçatuba, SP, Brazil: II International Symposium DATAGRO/UDOP. Organized by the UDOP (Bioenergy Producers Union) and DATAGRO. (Themes: ethanol, sugarcane, technology)

• 1-3 June 2009, São Paulo, Brazil: Ethanol Summit 2009 and Brazilian Ethanol Trade Show. Organized by the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) in cooperation with The Economist Group. (Themes: Brazil, ethanol, sugarcane).

• 17-18 August 2009, Bangkok, Thailand: 15th Asia International Sugar Conference (AISC) 2009 (Themes: sugarcane, ethanol, sustainability, Better Sugarcane Initiative)

• 7 October 2009, Mexico City, Mexico: Biofuels Markets Mexico & Central America (Themes: algae, biodiesel, biofuels, Central America, ethanol, Mexico, policy, sugarcane)

References

1. ↑ http://www.bettersugarcane.org

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