Sugarcane Straw Availability, Quality, Recovery And Energy Use: A Literature Review

Sugarcane straw represents, under Brazilian conditions, approximately one third of the total primary energy of sugarcane in the field. Today, its use for energy is incipient and it is mostly wasted by either burning in the pre-harvest or left on the ground to decay. Besides its potential use as feedstock for energy production, there are several possible agronomic benefits of the straw blanket left on the ground such as soil protection against erosion, increase of soil organic carbon content, inhibition of weed growth, nutrient recycling and reduction of soil water losses, to name a few. The balance of the impacts and the economic and energetic value of the straw indicate that the amount of the straw left on the ground that could be considered optimal is dependent on the local conditions, agricultural practices, characteristics of the straw and intended final use. This work is meant to shed some light into this subject to help the understanding of the importance of the various impacts of the straw blanket on the ground, the availability and quality of the straw, the economics of straw recovery and use and the main criteria for determining the amount of straw that can be recovered for bioenergy or biofuels production. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.531119Leal, M.R.L.V., The potential of sugarcane as an energy source Proceedings of the XXVI International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists (ISSCT) Congress, pp. 23-34. , July 31st to August 3rd, 2007, Durban, South AfricaBall-Coelho, B., Tiessen, H., Stewart, J.W.B., Salcedo, I.H., Sampaio, E.V.S.B., Residue management effects on sugarcane yield and soil properties in northeastern Brazil (1993) Agron J, 85, pp. 1004-1008Meier, E.A., Thorburn, P.J., Wegener, M.K., Basford, K.E., The availability of nitrogen from sugarcane trash on contrasting soils in the wet tropics of North Queensland (2006) Nutr Cycl Agroecosys, 75, pp. 101-114Sparovek, G., Schnug, E., Temporal erosion-induced soil degradation and yield loss (2001) Soil Sci Soc Am J, 65, pp. 1479-1486Dourado-Neto, D., Timm, L.C., Oliveira, J.C.M., Reichardt, K., Bacchi, O.O.S., Tominaga, T.T., State-space approach for the analysis of soil water content and temperature in a sugarcane crop (1999) Scientia Agricola, 56 (4), pp. 1215-1221Tominaga, T.T., Cássaro, F.A.M., Bacchi, O.O.S., Reichardt, K., Oliveira, J.C.M., Timm, L.C., Variability of soil water content and bulk density in a sugarcane field (2002) Aust J Soil Res, 40, pp. 604-614Graham, M.H., Haynes, R.J., Meyer, J.H., Changes in soil chemistry and aggregate stability induced by fertilizer applications, burning and trash retention on a long-term sugarcane experiment in South Africa (2002) Eur J Soil Sci, 53, pp. 589-598Cerri, C.C., Galdos, M.V., Maia, S.M.F., Bernoux, M., Feigl, B.J., Powlson, D., Effect of sugarcane harvesting systems on soil carbon stocks in Brazil: an examination of existing data (2011) Eur J Soil Sci, 62, pp. 23-28Hassuani, S.J., Leal, M.R.L.V., Macedo, I.C., Biomass power generation: sugarcane bagasse and trash (2005) Série Caminhos para Sustentabilidade, , PNUD-CTC, PiracicabaAtchison, J.E., Hettenhaus, J.R., (2004) Innovative methods for corn stover collecting, handling, storing and transporting, pp. p. 52. , National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, Report No. NREL/SR-510-33893Michelazzo, M.B., (2005) Análise de sensibilidade de seis sistemas de recolhimento do palhiço da cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum spp.), , Master's Thesis, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, CampinasBraunbeck, O.A., Neto, E.A., Logística do transporte de material-prima e resíduos da cana-de-açúcar (2010) Bioetanol de cana-de-açúcar: P&D para produtividade e sustentabilidade, , Blucher, São Paulo, L.A.B. 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Simulating scenarios for compost and vinasse use to improve the economics and environmental aspects of representative Colombian sugarcane production systems

The Colombian industrial sector is moving toward alternative forms of treatment of industrial waste, considering that the waste can be a source of raw material in the production chain. Thus, aiming at the decrease in mineral fertilizer use, and maintaining or even raising the crop yield, the sugarcane industry has recently advanced in the composting of the industrial waste and application in the field, both of them being potentially sustainable practices. This manuscript reports the economic benefits and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to the sugarcane production system in Colombia that has been simulated in this study to evaluate the beneficial effects of reusing industrial waste from ethanol production. This study was performed using the Virtual Sugarcane Biorefinery (VSB) modeling software for the simulation of agricultural and industrial parameters on integrated alternatives for the sugarcane industry. Colombian sugarcane sector was modeled using three scenarios representing agricultural systems that do not use composted industrial waste vs a paired scenario for each condition where composted waste is utilized. Regarding compost and vinasse use as fertilizer and soil conditioner, GHG emissions from the biogenic origin are not included as a reported item in the matrix of GHG emissions of the sugarcane sector. Inputs for the economic and environmental assessment models are based on actual operational data from two mill sites, one located in the traditional sugarcane production region of Cauca River Valley and the other one, on the agricultural expansion region of Llanos Orientales. Here, we have found that the reuse of composted industrial waste is beneficial and provides an economic cost savings of 2–6% per year. However, it also results in an annual increase of 10–20% in the GHG emissionsCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPsem informação2012/00282-