Brazil’s Bioethanol Initiative

Brazilian Bioethanol Initiative OPEC's oil embargo has caused many chain reactions all over the world, but there are few places that caused a sense like Brazil. Brazil is a poor country in South America and is particularly hit by the decline in world oil supply. In the early 1970s, the county prepared for the transition from agricultural economy and self-sufficient economy to industrialized economy. At the same time, overseas oil imports are also increasing.

In the 1980s, Brazil developed a bioethanol program by using its own domestic resources (sugarcane plantation supplied by rain without irrigation) and technology. Through a national alcohol program dating back to the military dictatorship of the 1970s ethanol imports were required as a means of saving oil imports. Encourage not only domestic producers but also local equipment suppliers (such as Dedini) to build the entire value chain on the supply side. Because automobiles must be adapted to ethanol or traditional, there is an initial resistance to demand. Consumers using ethanol using ethanol in the 1980s were disadvantaged when oil prices in the world fell and ethanol came to lose competitiveness.

In many developing countries, biofuels, especially ethanol are relatively low. Currently bioethanol produced from sugarcane is competing with Brazilian fossil fuel, the major producer of bioethanol in the world. In addition, the fossil energy used to produce ethanol from sugar cane is lower than that produced in Europe, so the corresponding emission reductions are even greater. Regarding biodiesel, the EU is currently the major producer without major trade. Developing countries currently producing biodiesel for domestic markets, such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, can fully develop the possibilities of export. (COM (2006) 34 Final, 6)

Enzymes and microorganisms are used to produce alcohols by fermentation processes of starch and sugar. Ethanol is the most common bioethanol among bioethanol produced by sugar cane in Brazil. In other parts of the world, a large amount of ethanol is produced by fermentation from beet and corn. Second generation biofuels have been developed to take advantage of the biomass left by the non-food part of current crops such as stems, leaves and shells left after a significant part of the crop has been taken. It also includes biomass from non-food crops such as jatropha (toxic), converted grasses, and industrial waste such as wood chips, leather and fruit press pulp. This generation of biofuels is cost competitive with existing fossil fuels and does not pose a threat to food supply or biodiversity.