Chapter 7 Sustainability of sugarcane bioethanol: the Brazilian experience

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Chapter 7Sustainability of sugarcanebioethanol
the Brazilian experience
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7.1. Environment and sugarcane energyLegislation
to guide producers toward best practices and
prohibit actions which harm the
environment.CONAMA Resolution 237/1997 three
phases of environmental licensing -
Preauthorization approves the site and plan and
establishes basic requirements and conditions to
be met in subsequent phases. - Facility License
authorizes the facility and includes
environmental control measures. - Operating
License authorizes operations after com-plying
with requirements established in the previous
licenses and subject to periodic renewal.
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- Emissions of gases with global impacts - The
use of sugarcane-based bioethanol significantly
reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared with
the use of gasoline in cars with similar
characteristics. - This contribution to the
mitigation of climate change is, possibly, one of
the most important features of sugarcane
bioethanol. - The substitution of ethanol for
gasoline and the generation of energy using
bagasse reduced equivalent CO2 emissions by 27.5
million and 5.7 million tons, respectively
(Brazil, 2003). - For each 100 million tons of
sugarcane used for energy, the emission of 12.6
million tons of equivalent CO2 could be avoided.
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- Emissions of gases with local impacts - In
bioethanol production, the local-impact emissions
that are of the most concern come from
pre-harvest burning and boiler chimneys. -
Brazilian public agencies are, therefore,
strongly inclined to restrict this practice
(which implies, indirectly, cutting by hand, a
process which is harder when the sugarcane is
unburned).- Water use and the disposal of
effluents - Depending on the climate, sugarcane
cultivation requires 1500 mm to 2500 mm of
adequately distributed water during the growing
cycle. - The volume for processing is estimated
at 21 m3 per ton of cane processed. But water
consumption and waste is much lower. -
Rationalization of water consumption (average
reduction in water use of from 5 m3 to 1.83 m3
per ton of cane processed).
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- Water use and the disposal of
effluents Fertirrigation (stillage is applied
to sugarcane) is the main form of final disposal
of the organic load, one which has both
environmental and economic advantages. -
Increase the area covered by stillage to increase
yields and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers
(lowering the risks of salinization and
contamination of the water table). - Used at
appropriate rates, stillage acts to revitalize
soil fertility, even below the surface, as well
as providing water and nutrients. - Stillage
and organic sugar. - Exploiting the residual
energy content in stillage through biodigestion
and biogas production.
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- Use of agrochemicals - Low use in comparison
with other important commercial crops. - The
reduced use of these pesticides is the result of
pest combat procedures. - Biological control
parasites or predators to control agricultural
pests.
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Fertilizer use - Low consume due to the use of
recycling of nutrients.
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Fertilizer use - Fertilizer as a complement to
recycle by-products productivity would fall
substantially. - Fertilizer costs gt adoption
of new fertilizer technologies. - Yield maps
significant fertilizers savings by substituting
the uniform application of fertilizers with
variable-rate applications. - Usina Jales
Machado (GO) achieved a reduction of 34.5 in
the application of lime and 38.6 in the
application of phosphorus (economy of 36 in
costs for these products, per fertilized hectare,
maintaining the same productivity).
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- Erosion and soil protection - Soil erosion is
the largest cause of degradation of agricultural
lands. - Use of raw cane harvesting -
Protects against raindrops and soil require less
preparation. - Improve conservation levels of
soil planted with sugarcane.
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Biodiversity - Impact of the production of
sugarcane depends on the original
characteristics of the land. - Effects of
sugarcane planting - In areas previously
occupied by other crops change in land use. -
Where there has been extensive cattle farming
significant negative impacts are possible. -
expansion of farmland over the last decades has
increased satellite monitoring systems
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- Biodiversity
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Biodiversity - Bioethanol agroindustry it is
important that - Complies with environmental
legislation. - Penalized for any
infractions. - Importance of the presence of
the State - Implemantation and fiscalization.
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Other environmental aspects - Two news
environmental issues related to sugarcane
bioethanol production - The emission of
greenhouse gases associated with land use
changes loss of original vegetation with the
implamentation of sugarcane farming. - the
indirect process of deforestation caused by the
occupation of rangeland by sugarcane.
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Land Use

• Perspectives for Bioethanol

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Development of agricultural land use in Brazil

• Brazil has a total surface area of 851.4 million
  hectares, mostly covered by tropical forests.
• The area of Brazilian rural properties (which
  ex-cludes protected areas, water bodies and areas
  unfit for agriculture and includes legal reserves
  of native formations) amounts to 354.8 million
  hectares (42 of the total area of the country)
• Between 1995 and 2006, Brazilian crop land
  expanded by 83.5 to occupy 76.7 million
  hectares, around 9 of the national territory.

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Rural Brazilian property land-use
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Evolution of the area used by the principal
crops in Brazil
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Evolution of the area used by the principal crops
in Brazil

• In 2007, sugarcane production in Brazil occupied
  7.8 million hectares, around one third of that
  occupied by soybean and half of that planted with
  corn
• Approximately half the sugarcane production goes
  to bioethanol production
• Hence, sugarcane plantations for fuel production
  in Brazil correspond to 5 of cultivated land, 1
  of the area of agricultural property, 2.3 of
  pastureland and 0.5 of the area of Brazil

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Land-use in Brazil
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Agroecological Zoning

• In an effort for planning the expansion of
  sugarcane agroindustry in Brazil, under the aus-
  pices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Supply
  (MAPA), the Sugarcane Agroecological Zoning
  (ZAE-Cana)
• The purpose is to define which areas and regions
  are appropriate/inappropriate for large-scale
  sugarcane farming
• The zoning is to be used to orient financing
  policies, infrastructure investments and tax
  regime improvements, and may also be useful for
  socio- environmental certification to be
  implemented in the future Strapasson (2008)
• Thus, areas of greatest potential for planting
  sugarcane are defined and classified, as well as
  those areas where it is not recommended or not
  possible

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Potential for the Expansion of Sugarcane
Production in Brazil
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Potential for the Expansion of Sugarcane
Production in Brazil

• Centro de Gestão de Estudos Estratégicos - CGEE
  (Center for Strategic Studies and Management) in
  conjunction with the Núcleo Interdisciplinar de
  Planejamento Energético - NIPE (Interdisciplinary
  Center of Energy Planning) of the State
  University of Campinas
• The study is a survey of areas with sugarcane
  production potential based on soil and climate
  maps

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Potential unirrigated sugarcane cultivation
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Potential unirrigated sugarcane cultivation

• The map of unirrigated sugarcane production
  potential, shows that most of the areas with high
  and medium potential, equivalent to 121.8 million
  hectares (33.7 of the total), are located in
  Brazils Central-South region
• These areas are flat or mildly hilly and do not
  have significant soil or climate limitations

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Potential sugarcane cultivation with salvation
irrigation
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Potential sugarcane cultivation with salvation
irrigation

• When salvation irrigation is contemplated, high
  and medium potential areas increase in size to
  135.9 million hectares (37.6 of the total),
  including in this case areas of the Brazils
  semi-arid Northeast region CGEE (2005)

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Potential sugar cane yields in Brazil
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Potential sugar cane yields in Brazil

• As an exercise in calculating the existing
  potential, let us consider the global numbers for
  the 2007/2008 crop in Brazil, around 22 billion
  liters of bioethanol were produced on 3.6 million
  hectares. In order to substitute (based on this
  empirical data, under current conditions) 10 of
  the gasoline consumed worldwide (1.3 billion
  cubic meters) with anhydrous alcohol, 136.5
  billion liters of bioethanol would be necessary.
  Again, under Brazilian conditions, this would
  require 23 million hectares, equivalent to the
  area currently occupied by soybean in Brazil

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Areas cultivated with sugarcane
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Area requirements for bioethanol production for
the 2025 global market
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Economic viability of Ethanol
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Ethanol sustainability

• Costs lt Results
• Ethanol competitiveness -gt Prices
• Difficulties on the study exchange of currency
  (câmbio)
• Still, the results are representative

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Prices for the produtors

• Attention on the dolar

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From the graphs...

• Ethanol prices have become more attractive than
  gasoline prices
• The addition of bioethanol reduces the fuel price
  as whole.

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Other way to measure Bioethanol attractiveness

• Average consumer sale prices
• Costs/km -gt Ethanol beats gasoline
• Flex fuel cars

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Power of choice
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Costs lt Results

• Are the prices good for the produtors?
• Measuring costs -gt raw material
• This is a general characteristic oil and gas
  face the same problems.

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Conclusions

• Ethanol cost U 0,353 and U 0,406/ liter
• Oil cost U 50 e U 57/ barrel
• New frontiers reduced costs (location)
• Old frontiers reduced costs (expenses -gt
  technology)

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Conclusions

• Ethanol is viable in terms of costs and prices
• No subsidies to compete with conventional fuels!

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• 7.4 - Generation of Employment and Income

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Data Base

• 2005 ? 982.000 workers direct and formal (PNAD)
• For each right, there are 1.43 indirect and
  induced 2.75 (Matriz Insumo-Produto - 1997)
• Estimated total in 2005 ? 4,1 milhões
• Wide distribution
• Unskilled

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Evolution

• Number X Qualification

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Productivity

• Centro-Sul (63 workers X 85 production)

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Seasonality of the labor force

• Planting, cultivation and harvest ? 70
• Coefficient Seasonality (safra e entressafra)
• Cane 1,3
• Rice 7
• Beans 3 e 4,5
• Orange 7,8
• Soy 3,5 e 12
• Cotton 40

• There was a decrease in cane, mainly due to
  mechanization and extension of crop

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Evolution in the quality of work

• Study evaluating the changes between 2001 and
  2004
• Variables
• educational level
• degree of formality
• income
• benefits

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Evolution in the quality of work

• Increase in level of formality (higher levels in
  rural areas)
• Increase in real wage gains (average of 40 to
  22.5 for urban and rural)
• Increase and diversification benefits
• Reduction of child labor (Pernambuco)
• Controversy over compensation policy

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Transition of the labor force

• Mechanization
• Reducing the burning of straw
• Cost reduction
• 40 of the harvest of the Center-South
• Working 80 to 100 cutters
• Trend replication to other regions
• 00-05 Production (28.8) X services (18)
• In 2020 there is more manual cutting

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Transition of the labor force

• Alternatives
• Support alternative activities
• Strengthening and empowering
• Adoption of intermediate technologies (Mobile
  Unit Harvest Aid)

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Work intensity
Fonte de Energia X Trabalhadores
Carvão Mineral 38
Hidreletricidade 50
Petróleo 152
por unidade de energia produzida

• Major generator of jobs
• Increased qualification
• Local Development

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Land issue

• Social demand for access to landXBase
  productive and efficient

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Land issue

• Aspects of the current structure
• Large areas occupied
• Great concentration
• Large vertical
• Economy of scale
• Dilution of fixed costs
• Adoption of technologies

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Land issue

• Alternatives have not solidified
• Decentralize the production scale and reduce
• Micro and mini distilleries (half of
  productivity)
• Associate with cattle production (value bagasse)
• It shows no centralized compared to other energy
  matrices (less than 10 of all production
  concentrated)

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Effects on economy
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Certification and sustainability

• Certification for biofuels - BarriersComplexity
  of systemsRequirement monitoringDo not become
  protectionistHigh cost for certification

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Major efforts

• Organizations involvedEuropean Commission,
  United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, the United
  Nations (Environment, Food and Agriculture,
  Industrial Development, among others)Agro-Environ
  mental Protocol - 2006 (State and SP UNICA)

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Thank you!