Rai¬zeni Energia, Brazil’s largest producer of sugar cane ethanol, is planning to scale up production at a new “second-generation” biofuel plant, in a move that will sharply increase the productivity of one of the country’s most important industries. The company says that it will increase production more than fivefold within two years, making the new technology competitive with traditional ethanol and harnessing potentially millions of tonnes of plant material that currently goes to waste. Brazil is the second-largest producer of ethanol in the world after the US, with much of its fleet of vehicles adapted to be able to run on ethanol only or on a petrol-ethanol mix. Petrol stations normally supply both ethanol and fossil fuels. While a number of c ountries are commercialising cellulose from plants for use as ethanol, Brazilian sugar cane waste, known as bagasse, is seen as one of the most promising sources because of its plentiful supply and the large existing infrastructure for processing conventional ethanol.
FT 2nd July 2017 read more »