ETHANOL 2G
Sugarcane ethanol today is made from the sucrose found in sugarcane juice and molasses. This current process taps only one-third of the energy sugarcane can offer. The other two-thirds remains locked in leftover cane fiber (called bagasse) and straw. While some of this energy is converted to bioelectricity in Brazil, scientists have discovered new techniques to produce ethanol – known as cellulosic ethanol – from leftover plant material.
This complex process involves hydrolysis and gasification technologies to break down lignocellulose – the structural material found in plant matter – into sugar, in the case of sugarcane. While cellulosic ethanol can be made from abundant and diverse raw materials, its production requires a greater amount of processing than mainstream sugarcane ethanol, making it relatively more expensive.
Once engineers and technical experts perfect commercial-scale manufacturing, production prices should come down, and cellulosic ethanol could potentially double the volume of fuel produced on the same amount of land.
There is currently one commercial plant from Raízen producing cellulosic ethanol in Brazil.
With new production techniques, it is possible to use the leftover bagasse to increase biofuel production, without increasing the land used for cultivation.
INNOVATION
ETHANOL 2G
PRODUCTION PROCESS
