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.

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.

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.

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.

"Climate change is a challenge facing human life. It will change mobility and asks for new energy solutions. Bioenergy has gained increased attention as an alternative to fossil fuels. Energy based on renewable sources may offer part of the solution. Bio ethanol based on sugar cane offers advantages to people, the environment and the economy. Not surprisingly, governments currently enact powerful incentives for the development and exploitation of bio ethanol. However, every inch we come closer to this achievement, evokes more scepticism. Many questions are raised relating to whether sugar cane is really a sustainable solution. Still much is unknown about the net release of carbon dioxide and what the impacts of sugar cane expansion are on green house gas emissions. This book looks at the scientific base of the debate on sugar cane bio ethanol. Authors from Europe, Brazil and the USA capture many aspects of what is known and address assumptions while not denying that still much is unknown. It covers impacts on climate change, land use, sustainability and market demands. This publication discusses public policy impacts, technology developments, the fuel-food dilemma and the millennium development goals. This makes this publication unique and extremely relevant for policymakers, scientists and the private energy sector worldwide."

Advances in Sugarcane Biorefinery: Technologies, Commercialization, Policy Issues and Paradigm Shift for Bioethanol and By-Products, by Chandel and Silveira, compiles the basic and applied information covering cane and biomass processing for sugar and ethanol production, as well as by-products utilization for improving the economy of sugarcane biorefineries. In this unique collection of 14 chapters, specialists in their field provide critical insights into several topics, review the current research, and discuss future progress in this research area. The book presents the most current advances in sugarcane biorefinery, including sugarcane crop cultivation, new sugarcane varieties, soil health, mechanization of crop, technical aspects of first and second generation ethanol production, economic analysis, life cycle assessment, biomass logistics and storage, co-generation of heat and electricity, process intensification and alternative by-products utilization. The book also explores the business ecosystem of sugarcane biorefineries, marketing analysis of ethanol demand and price dwindling patterns, aiming for a futuristic scenario. This book will be especially useful for scientists, researchers and technicians who are working in the area of biomass based biorefineries, as well as professionals in the sugar and alcohol industry. It also brings relevant content for policy makers, market analysts, agriculture scientists and managers. - Presents technological updates on biomass processing, system biology, microbial fermentation, catalysis, regeneration and monitoring of renewable energy and recovery processes - Includes topics on techno-economic analysis, life cycle assessment, sustainability, markets and policy - Explores the future potential of biorefineries with zero or near zero waste, and the potential of valorization of all by-products, including alternatives to current applications and the management of a large amount of residues

Recent studies have shown strong evidence of human activity impact on the climate of the planet. Higher temperatures and intensification of extreme weather events such as hurricanes are among the consequences. This scenario opens up several possibilities for what is now called "green" or low carbon economy. We are talking about creating new businesses and industries geared to develop products and services with low consumption of natural resources and reduced greenhouse gases emission. Within this category of business, biofuels is a highlight and the central theme of this book. The first section presents some research results for first generation ethanol production from starch and sugar raw materials. Chapters in the second section present results on some efforts around the world to develop an efficient technology for producing second-generation ethanol from different types of lignocellulosic materials. While these production technologies are being developed, different uses for ethanol could also be studied. The chapter in the third section points to the use of hydrogen in fuel cells, where this hydrogen could be produced from ethanol.