Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emission by Ethanol Production from Sugarcane (Case Study of Minas Gerais, Brazil)

Abstract

The paper presents an evaluation of greenhouse gas emission during the industrial process of ethanol production from sugarcane crops. The production of biofuels is experiencing an increasing trend in most regions of the world, following the need of the optimization of renewable energy from biomass. In Brazil sugarcane is one of the main raw materials for the production of ethanol. The research summarized in this paper was carried out in the period 2008-10 in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The tool Ecoinvent has been used for the estimation of the environmental magnitude of the components of bioethanol production. Moreover a field survey has been carried out, which involved the visit to 11 selected distilleries, together with the application of questionnaires related to the whole ethanol production process and to the utilization of chemical components and by-products. The total emission of CO 2 eq (representing the whole amount of greenhouse gases: CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O) could be estimated in 1540 kg/ha.year. The key sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the bioethanol production are sugarcane burning and use of fuels, which account for more than 50 % of total emissions. This shows a clear environmental limitation in the process of sugarcane utilization.