Second-generation ethanol production is overcoming the technical difficulties that delayed its development and is now seen as commercially competitive, with oil prices close to 70 dollars a barrel, industry representatives said on Tuesday.
As countries around the world prepare to meet their respective commitments under the Paris climate agreement, the global increase in regulations favoring advanced biofuels and programs that tax carbon-based fuels is creating a more positive environment, biofuel executives said at the “Forum Brasil Bioeconomia 2018” seminar in São Paulo.
After years of investment and technical setbacks, second-generation or cellulosic biofuels are seen as the future of green fuels, since they can be made from various types of biomass, overcoming criticism of the use of food crops to produce fuel and sharply reducing vehicle carbon emissions.
“We had a moment of great excitement some 5 or 6 years ago, then came a ‘downsize’, with players leaving the field and announcing huge difficulties in operating plants in a stable way,” said Victor Uchoa, head of biorefining in Latin America at the biotechnology company Novozymes.
“But that time is behind us; we are on an upward trend again, and Raízen is an excellent example of that, showing both in Brazil and abroad that it can be done and can be profitable,” he said.
Raízen, a joint venture between Shell and Cosan, is producing around 40 million liters of cellulosic ethanol a year at its plant in Piracicaba, in the State of São Paulo.
“We have solved the operational problems, production is currently stable and we are hitting the planned numbers,” Raphaella Gomes, head of Raízen’s innovation division, told Reuters on the sidelines of the seminar.
The joint venture has previously said that it sells all of its second-generation ethanol production at a price premium over regular sugarcane ethanol because of its environmental credentials.
Cellulosic ethanol in Brazil is made mainly from sugarcane bagasse and straw. Novozymes supplied Raízen with the enzymes used in the fermentation process, which was another technological challenge, since biomass requires a new type of fermentation to produce ethanol.
Mauricio Adade, head of Latin America at DSM, a company that supplies products for cellulose fermentation, said that in other countries – including the United States, where second-generation ethanol is made from corn residues – production is very close to being financially viable.
“With oil at around 70 dollars, we can compete,” he said.
Adade expects strong demand from Asian countries such as China and India, which are seeking to drastically cut carbon emissions from the transportation sector.
By Marcelo Teixeira, Reuters
https://exame.abril.com.br/economia/etanol-de-2a-geracao-dribla-problemas-tecnicos-e-e-visto-como-competitivo/