LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT AND TECHNOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE CURRENT CONTRASTING PRODUCTION OF BRAZILIAN ETHANOL
Marco Antonio Díaz1; Tito Cals1; Marcos Sebastiao De Paula Gomes1
1 PUC - RIO, Brazil
doi:10.20906/CPS/COB-2015-1756
Resumo
In this study we analyze the present context of the Brazilian ethanol mills. The goal of the study is to show how the technological, geographical and environmental differences influence the energy consumption and the greenhouse gas emissions through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The contrasting production chain can be identified by the differences in the geographic localization. For the LCA, we analyze information provided by qualified employees during technical visits to eight ethanol mills of different geographical zones of the country. The mills of the Southwest and Southeast region of the country have relatively mechanized production processes, while in the North and Northeast region it is used labor-intensive production. The results showed that the majority of GHG emissions of the mills of the Southeast and Southwest regions, during the stages of the ethanol production, occur mainly by burning fossil fuels, by machinery use and stillage irrigation, while in the mills of the North-Northeast region the burning of sugarcane, before manual harvest, is the main responsible for the GHG emissions. Regarding the current technologies and infrastructure, the environmental legislation and geographical conditions we can say that the Southeast and Southwest regions have advantages in terms of legal, climate, soil and geographical conditions in comparison with the North and Northeast region, with respect to the Brazilian ethanol production.
Palavras-chave: Sugarcane ethanol; Life cycle assessment (LCA); Energy consumption; GHG emissions