Evaluación económica y ambiental de la quema conjunta de carbón y bagazo en la industria colombiana de la caña de azúcar

Energy generation is key to any country’s development, and the threats to energy supply have led the Colombian government to establish national policies that stimulate energy generation projects. In response, this manuscript reports the economic impact and the GHG emission that have been simulated in this study to evaluate the co-firing of the coal-bagasse mixture in the cogeneration systems of the ethanol industry in the Cauca River Valley in Colombia as an opportunity to increase the economic benefits due to the increase of electricity sell to the national grid in the strong dry seasons. This study was carried out using the Virtual Sugarcane Biorefinery (VSB) modeling software employed for the simulation of agricultural and industrial parameters in integrated alternatives for the sugarcane industry, which was adjusted to the Colombian conditions to allow simulating the current electricity production in the sugarcane mills in the assessed region. The economic assessment of the co-firing process in the cogeneration system demonstrates that this industrial process represents an opportunity to increase the economic benefits by about 26%. However, the coal combustion in the boiler generates about 54% of the total GHG emissions for the consumption of coal, whereas the burning of bagasse corresponds to only 5%.La generación de energía es clave para el desarrollo de cualquier país, y las amenazas para el suministro de energía han llevado al gobierno colombiano a establecer políticas nacionales que estimulen los proyectos de generación de energía. En respuesta, este manuscrito informa sobre el impacto económico y la emisión de GEI que se han simulado en este estudio, para evaluar la quema conjunta de carbón y bagazo en los sistemas de cogeneración de la industria del etanol en el Valle del río Cauca, en Colombia, como una oportunidad para aumentar los beneficios económicos, debido al aumento en la venta de electricidad a la red nacional en las fuertes temporadas secas. Este estudio se realizó utilizando el software de modelado Biorrefinería Virtual de Caña de Azúcar (BVC), utilizado para la simulación de parámetros agrícolas e industriales en alternativas integradas para la industria de la caña de azúcar. La BVC, que se ajustó a las condiciones colombianas para permitir simular la producción actual de electricidad en los ingenios de caña de azúcar de la región estudiada. La evaluación económica del proceso de quema conjunta en el sistema de cogeneración demuestra que este proceso industrial representa una oportunidad para aumentar los beneficios económicos de alrededor del 26 %. Sin embargo, la combustión del carbón en la caldera genera aproximadamente el 54 % de las emisiones totales de GEI para el consumo de carbón, mientras que la quema de bagazo corresponde a solo el 5 %

De promessa a realidade: como o etanol celulósico pode revolucionar a indústria da cana-de-açúcar: uma avaliação do potencial competitivo e sugestões de política pública

Bibliografia: p. 286-289Anexos: p. 289-294Após um longo período de desenvolvimento tecnológico em nível mundial, o etanol celulósico ou de segunda geração (E2G) atingiu o estágio de plantas comerciais. O Brasil, por conta dos projetos fomentados pelo Plano Conjunto BNDES-Finep de Apoio à Inovação Tecnológica Industrial dos Setores Sucroenergético e Sucroquímico (PAISS), tem atualmente uma capacidade instalada de produção de E2G de cerca de 140 milhões de litros por ano. Contudo, tal volume ainda pode ser considerado pequeno quando comparado à demanda interna de combustíveis, hoje suprida com volumes relevantes de gasolina importada. Assim, com o objetivo de fomentar a implementação de mecanismos de política pública que acelerem os investimentos em novas plantas de E2G, este artigo apresenta, baseado em premissas discutidas com diversas empresas e especialistas, estimativas sobre o potencial de melhoria de eficiência e redução de custos de produção do E2G em diferentes cenários tecnológicos. Se bem-sucedidas, tais políticas ajudariam a alterar o atual paradigma tecnoeconômico da indústria da cana-de-açúcar, resgatando sua competitividade

Energy and Environmental Aspects of Using Eucalyptus from Brazil for Energy and Transportation Services in Europe

The international market of woody biomass for bioenergy is expected to have a major role in future global scenarios aligning with a 2 or 1.5 °C target. However, the quantification of the environmental impacts of energy and transportation services from novel technologies and biomass production systems are yet to be extensively studied on a case-specific basis. We use a life cycle assessment approach to quantify environmental impacts of four bioenergy systems based on eucalyptus plantations established in abandoned pastureland in Brazil. The alternative bioenergy systems deliver energy and transportation services in Europe (cradle-to-gate analysis), including modern technologies for production of heat, electricity (with and without carbon capture and storage), and advanced liquid biofuels. We find that all bioenergy systems can achieve sizeable climate benefits, but in some cases at increased pressure in other impact categories. The most impacting activities are biomass transport stages, followed by eucalyptus stand establishment, and pellet production. An estimate of the potential large-scale bioenergy deployment of eucalyptus established in marginal areas in Brazil shows that up to 7 EJ of heat, 2.5 EJ of electricity, or 5 EJ of transportation biofuels per year can be delivered. This corresponds to a climate mitigation potential between 0.9% and 2.4% (0.29 and 0.83 GtCO2 per year) of the global anthropogenic emissions in 2015, and between 5.7% and 16% of European emissions, depending on the specific bioenergy system considered. A sensitivity analysis indicated that the best environmental performance is achieved with on-site biomass storage, transportation of wood chips with trucks, pellets as energy carrier, and larger ship sizes. Our quantitative environmental analysis contributes to increased understanding of the potential benefits and tradeoffs of large-scale supply of biomass resources, and additional research can further improve resolution and integrate environmental impact indicators within a broader sustainability perspective, as indicated by the recently established sustainable development goals

Energy and Environmental Aspects of Using Eucalyptus from Brazil for Energy and Transportation Services in Europe

The international market of woody biomass for bioenergy is expected to have a major role in future global scenarios aligning with a 2 or 1.5 °C target. However, the quantification of the environmental impacts of energy and transportation services from novel technologies and biomass production systems are yet to be extensively studied on a case-specific basis. We use a life cycle assessment approach to quantify environmental impacts of four bioenergy systems based on eucalyptus plantations established in abandoned pastureland in Brazil. The alternative bioenergy systems deliver energy and transportation services in Europe (cradle-to-gate analysis), including modern technologies for production of heat, electricity (with and without carbon capture and storage), and advanced liquid biofuels. We find that all bioenergy systems can achieve sizeable climate benefits, but in some cases at increased pressure in other impact categories. The most impacting activities are biomass transport stages, followed by eucalyptus stand establishment, and pellet production. An estimate of the potential large-scale bioenergy deployment of eucalyptus established in marginal areas in Brazil shows that up to 7 EJ of heat, 2.5 EJ of electricity, or 5 EJ of transportation biofuels per year can be delivered. This corresponds to a climate mitigation potential between 0.9% and 2.4% (0.29 and 0.83 GtCO2 per year) of the global anthropogenic emissions in 2015, and between 5.7% and 16% of European emissions, depending on the specific bioenergy system considered. A sensitivity analysis indicated that the best environmental performance is achieved with on-site biomass storage, transportation of wood chips with trucks, pellets as energy carrier, and larger ship sizes. Our quantitative environmental analysis contributes to increased understanding of the potential benefits and tradeoffs of large-scale supply of biomass resources, and additional research can further improve resolution and integrate environmental impact indicators within a broader sustainability perspective, as indicated by the recently established sustainable development goals.publishedVersion© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Overview of recent land‐cover changes in biodiversity hotspots

Between 1992 and 2015, nearly 148 million hectares (Mha) within biodiversity hotspots – biologically rich but threatened terrestrial regions – worldwide underwent land‐cover changes, equating to 6% of the total areal extent of hotspots. Forest losses in hotspots amounted to 54 Mha (–7% of the forest area present in 1992), driven primarily by agricultural expansion (38 Mha); shrubland or savanna also declined by 23 Mha (–8%). Over the same time, urban areas expanded by 10 Mha (+108%). Major losses in forest areas occurred in Sundaland (11 Mha, –13% relative to 1992), Indo‐Burma (6 Mha, –6%), and Mesoamerica (5 Mha, –7%). Approximately 7.5 Mha of forest loss occurred within protected areas (–5% of the respective forest area in 1992), of which 3.9 Mha was cleared between 2000 and 2015, with ~1 Mha alone converted in the 5 years after 2010. More stringent and effective land‐based policies are urgently needed to prevent additional landscape fragmentation and preserve existing species richness in the world's biodiversity hotspots

Overview of recent land cover changes in the biodiversity hotspots

Biodiversity hotspots are the most biologically rich, yet threatened, terrestrial regions. From 1992 to 2015, they underwent 148 Mha of land cover changes, including forest losses (56 Mha, of which 40 Mha caused by agricultural expansion), declines of shrubland or savannah (23 Mha), and urbanization (10 Mha). The three largest losses in forest areas occurred in Sundaland, Indo-Burma, and Mesoamerica, accounting for 11 Mha, 6 Mha, and 5 Mha, respectively. This corresponds to a relative loss of 13%, 6%, and 7%, respectively, of the forest area originally present in 1992. Forest losses are also observed inside protected areas within the biodiversity hotspots. About 4.5 Mha of forests were lost between 2000 and 2015, and around 1 Mha of losses happened in the relatively recent past (between 2010 and 2015). Stricter and more effective land-based policies are needed to preserve threatened ecosystems and prevent risks of massive species extinction