This book offers a broad understanding of bioethanol production from sugarcane, although a few other substrates, except corn, will also be mentioned. The 10 chapters are grouped in five sections. The Fuel Ethanol Production from Sugarcane in Brazil section consists of two chapters dealing with the first-generation ethanol Brazilian industrial process. The Strategies for Sugarcane Bagasse Pretreatment section deals with emerging physicochemical methods for biomass pretreatment, and the non-conventional biomass source for lignocellulosic ethanol production addresses the potential of weed biomass as alternative feedstock. In the Recent Approaches for Increasing Fermentation Efficiency of Lignocellulosic Ethanol section, potential and research progress using thermophile bacteria and yeasts is presented, taking advantage of microorganisms involved in consolidating or simultaneous hydrolysis and fermentation processes. Finally, the Recent Advances in Ethanol Fermentation section presents the use of cold plasma and hydrostatic pressure to increase ethanol production efficiency. Also in this section the use of metabolic-engineered autotrophic cyanobacteria to produce ethanol from carbon dioxide is mentioned.

Sugarcane has garnered much interest for its potential as a viable renewable energy crop. While the use of sugar juice for ethanol production has been in practice for years, a new focus on using the fibrous co-product known as bagasse for producing renewable fuels and bio-based chemicals is growing in interest. The success of these efforts, and the development of new varieties of energy canes, could greatly increase the use of sugarcane and sugarcane biomass for fuels while enhancing industry sustainability and competitiveness. Sugarcane-Based Biofuels and Bioproducts examines the development of a suite of established and developing biofuels and other renewable products derived from sugarcane and sugarcane-based co-products, such as bagasse. Chapters provide broad-ranging coverage of sugarcane biology, biotechnological advances, and breakthroughs in production and processing techniques. This text brings together essential information regarding the development and utilization of new fuels and bioproducts derived from sugarcane. Authored by experts in the field, Sugarcane-Based Biofuels and Bioproducts is an invaluable resource for researchers studying biofuels, sugarcane, and plant biotechnology as well as sugar and biofuels industry personnel.

The petroleum age began about 150 years ago. Easily available energy has s- ported major advances in agriculture, industry, transportation, and indeed many diverse activities valued by humans. Now world petroleum and natural gas s- plies have peaked and their supplies will slowly decline over the next 40–50 years until depleted. Although small amounts of petroleum and natural gas will remain underground, it will be energetically and economically impossible to extract. In the United States, coal supplies could be available for as long as 40–50 years, depending on how rapidly coal is utilized as a replacement for petroleum and natural gas. Having been comfortable with the security provided by fossil energy, especially petroleum and natural gas, we appear to be slow to recognize the energy crisis in the U. S. and world. Serious energy conservation and research on viable renewable - ergy technologies are needed. Several renewable energy technologies already exist, but sound research is needed to improve their effectiveness and economics. Most of the renewable energy technologies are in uenced by geographic location and face problems of intermittent energy supply and storage. Most renewable technologies require extensive land; a few researchers have even suggested that one-half of all land biomass could be harvested in order to supply the U. S. with 30% of its liquid fuel! Some optimistic investigations of renewable energy have failed to recognize that only 0. 1% of the solar energy is captured annually in the U. S.

Sugarcane exhibits all the major characteristics of a promising bioenergy crop including high biomass yield, C4 photosynthetic system, perennial nature, and ratooning ability. Being the largest agricultural commodity of the world with respect to total production, sugarcane biomass is abundantly available. Brazil has already become a sugarcane biofuels centered economy while Thailand, Colombia, and South Africa are also significantly exploiting this energy source. Other major cane producers include India, China, Pakistan, Mexico, Australia, Indonesia, and the United States. It has been projected that sugarcane biofuels will be playing extremely important role in world’s energy matrix in recent future. This book analyzes the significance, applications, achievements, and future avenues of biofuels and bioenergy production from sugarcane, in top cane growing countries around the globe. Moreover, we also evaluate the barriers and areas of improvement for targeting efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective biofuels from sugarcane to meet the world’s energy needs and combat the climate change.

In Brazil, sugarcane ethanol supplied, in 2009, 17.6 % of the energy for land transportation (excluding railroads)and about 55% of the total energy supplied by liquid fuel for Otto cycle engines. Besides the lower production costs ethanol produced from sugarcane in Brazil has another important advantage: in Central-South Brazil only 1 unit of fossil energy is used for each 8-9 units of energy produced by ethanol from sugarcane. Carbon emissions reduction also benefits from sugarcane ethanol: for each cubic meter of ethanol used as fuel, there is net saving of around 2 t CO2 not emitted to the atmosphere while, at the same time, no SO2 is emitted. Sugarcane was introduced in Brazil in 1532. The "Brazilian model" of producing concomitantly sugar and ethanol, brought important technical benefits and made possible an outstanding increase in the competitiveness in the international market for sugar and ethanol. Today about 50% of the sucrose of sugarcane produced in the country is directed to the production of sugar while another half is used to produce Ethanol. Industrial and academic R&D has helped to increase the productivity of ethanol steadily over the past 35 years, at a rate of 3.2% per year. Productivity gains implied savings of planted area by a factor of 2.6. In 2009/2010 the area planted with sugarcane for Ethanol production was 4.2 Mha, amounting to 1% of the total arable land available in Brazil. About 60% of the Ethanol produced in Brazil comes from the State of Sao Paulo, where the productivity is the highest (around 86 t/ha.year). Most of the recent expansion is happening in the center-west region of the country, in degraded pasture lands. The FAPESP Program for Research on Bioenergy, BIOEN, aims at articulating public and private R&D, using academic and industrial laboratories to advance and apply knowledge in fields related to ethanol production in Brazil. The BIOEN Program has a solid core for supporting academic exploratory research activities that will generate new knowledge and form scientists and professionals essential for advancing industry capacity in ethanol related technologies. On top of this, BIOEN includes partnerships with industry for cooperative R&D activities between industrial and academic laboratories, which are to be co-funded by FAPESP and industry.Federal agencies, such as CNPq, will also co-fund the research.

The world is on the verge of an unprecedented increase in the production and use of biofuels for transport. The combination of rising oil prices, issues of security, climate instability and pollution, deepening poverty in rural and agricultural areas, and a host of improved technologies, is propelling governments to enact powerful incentives for the use of these fuels, which is in turn sparking investment. Biofuels for Transport is a unique and comprehensive assessment of the opportunities and risks of the large-scale production of biofuels. The book demystifies complex questions and concerns, such as thefood v. fuel debate. Global in scope, it is further informed by five country studies from Brazil, China, Germany, India and Tanzania. The authors conclude that biofuels will play a significant role in our energy future, but warn that the large-scale use of biofuels carries risks that require focused and immediate policy initiatives. Published in association with BMELV, FNR and GTZ.