CTBE's Sustainability Program

The CTBE’s Research Program on Sustainability of Bioethanol from Sugarcane has one short-term goal and a close-related mid-term goal. On short-term, the aim is evaluating the sustainability of bioethanol production from sugarcane, considering current technology and all changes that must occur or can be implemented in the years to come. The mid-term aim is on evaluating the bioethanol production from a sustainability point of view, taking into account all science and technology innovations that shall be incorporated to the production chain, and that will be developed by the CTBE in its Research Programs (e.g., low impact mechanization in the agricultural side, ethanol production through hydrolysis of the bagasse, diversification of products, etc.).

A specific target is the comparison between alternative processes for the production of ethanol from sugarcane and conventional ones. Consequently it should be possible to identify advantages and/or disadvantages of alternative processes and to evaluate the necessary actions in order to maximize benefits and reduce drawbacks.

Due to the wide concept of Sustainability, three priority aspects were defined by CTBE taking into account both the national and the international agenda. These three main issues were presented during the 1 ^st Workshop on Sustainability of Bioethanol, held in May 2009: energy balance and balance on greenhouse gas emissions; socio-economic impacts; and impacts on the availability and on quality of water resources.