Sugarcane Biorefinery, Technology and Perspectives

Fernando Santos, Sarita Rabelo, Mario De Matos, Paulo Eichler

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9780128142363
• eBook ISBN: 9780128142370
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Development Economics
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Sugarcane Biorefinery, Technology and Perspectives provides the reader with a current view of the global scenario of sugarcane biorefinery, launching a new expectation on this important crop from a chemical, energy and sustainability point-of-view. The book explores the existing biorefinery platforms that can be used to convert sugarcane to new high value added products. It also addresses one of today's most controversial issues involving energy cane, in addition to the dilemma "sugar cane vs. food vs. the environment", adding even more value in a culture that is already a symbol of case study around the world.Focusing on the chemical composition of sugarcane, and the production and processes that optimize it for either agricultural or energy use, the book is designed to provide practical insights for current application and inspire the further exploration of options for balancing food and fuel demands.- Presents the productive chain of sugarcane and its implications on food production and the environment- Includes discussions on the evolution of the sustainable development of the sugar-energy sector- Contextualizes and premises for the technological road mapping of energy-cane- Provides information on new technologies in the sugar-energy sector

Chapter 1

Sugarcane world scenario

Mario de Matos, Fernando Santos and Paulo Eichler

Abstract

Sugarcane, now known worldwide for its high productivity, participation in high technology processes, high-quality raw material, and, especially for the potential of sugar and ethanol production, has undergone several modifications throughout history. It is a semiperennial plant of the grass family, originating from hot to tropical temperate regions of Asia, especially India. Its main characteristic is the production of sugars (mainly sucrose, glucose, and fructose), concentrating on its culm. The aerial part of the plant consists of stalk, green leaves, and dry leaves. The upper part of the plant has a higher humidity and the lower part has a lower humidity, with dry (or dead) leaves. The sugarcane presents a C4 photosynthetic cycle, with leaves in the form of spears, sprouting in stalks, and abundant tillering in the initial phase of development. The plant has approximately 57% of water in its mass composition, the remainder being divided between straw, bagasse, and sugar.

Keywords

sugarcane history; saccharum; world scenario; socioeconomics; sugar

Contents

Outline

• Introduction 1
• Historical itinerary of sugarcane 3
• History of the main products of sugarcane 7
• World scenario of sugarcane and its main products 8
  • Approximate values for the 2016/17 harvest 11
  • Approximate values for the 2017/18 harvest 12
  • The sugar and ethanol sectors in Africa 12
  • The sugar, ethanol, and energy sectors in Brazil 14
• Socioeconomic and environmental benefits of using ethanol from sugarcane 16
• Perspectives 17
• References 19

Introduction

Sugarcane, now known worldwide for its high productivity, participation in high technology processes, high-quality raw material, and, especially for the potential of sugar and ethanol production, has undergone several modifications throughout history. It is a semiperennial plant of the grass family, originating from hot to tropical temperate regions of Asia, especially India. Its main characteristic is the production of sugars (mainly sucrose, glucose, and fructose), concentrating on its culm. The aerial part of the plant consists of stalk, green leaves, and dry leaves. The upper part of the plant has a higher humidity and the lower part has a lower humidity, with dry (or dead) leaves (Fig. 1.1). The sugarcane presents a C4 photosynthetic cycle, with leaves in the form of spears, sprouting in stalks, and abundant tillering in the initial phase of development (Santos et al., 2013). The plant has approximately 57% of water in its mass composition, the remainder being divided between straw, bagasse, and sugar.

Figure 1.1 Sugarcane plant illustration. Alexander AG (1985) The energy cane alternative. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., 509 pp.

This culture has been shown, throughout history, as an important product, widely marketed, and of great interest during several periods of history. Since sugar cane was used for sugar production it was responsible for the creation of new commercial routes in the old Mediterranean until its establishment in the Americas, when it is used for ethanol production.

In this chapter, we show the history of sugarcane, from its probable origin in Southeast Asia to the present day where sugarcane is present on all continents; being one of the most important crops in the world, generating hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Due to the importance of its main products (sugar, ethanol, and energy), sugarcane has become a crucial source of income and development for several tropical countries like Brazil. Thus it is important to show the development of these countries with the use of sugarcane, so that is possible to know how impacting it is for humanity.

Historical itinerary of sugarcane

For a few years, India and Papua New Guinea disputed the origin of this plant as a native of these countries. The fact that some of the spontaneous species of Saccharum spontaneum and Saccharum robostun still being found in Papua New Guinea ended up giving reason for choosing this country that is now officially considered their homeland. The domestication of this species would give Saccharum barberi widespread in India and Saccharum sinensis implanted in China after many years. Thus Indians would have been the first to extract the sugarcane juice to produce raw sugar around 500 BCE. At that time, Emperor Darius, upon arriving in India, observed that there were “plants that produced honey without the need of bees” (Santos et al., 2018).

The name Saccharum attributed to sugarcane has its origin in the word of Transkrit, Karkara of India that was later called Sakkar or Sukkar by the Arabs after having introduced sugarcane from India to the Middle East through Persia.

A few centuries later, after being brought from Persia to Europe by Alexander the Great, the Romans would call it much later Saccharum name with which it would be adopted and later attributed by Linnaeus in 1753 for its botanical classification that lasts until our days.

However, sugarcane has been widely cultivated, in addition to Egypt, in Spain (where there is still the oldest known sugarcane mill in the world) which uses stone grinders, and also introduced and cultivated in other parts of the Mediterranean, such as Venice, from which later to transit in the 15th and 6th centuries for the Madeira Islands and the Canary Islands. Notoriously, from the Canary Islands it was introduced in the New World to Hispaniola Island (Dominican Republic) in CE 1493 and to Brazil in CE 1532.

In the mid-14th century, there are records that the production of sugarcane in the Mediterranean region (Crete, Greece, North Africa, and Cyprus) was related to the use of slave labor. Like the other agricultural productive means, the economy of the region was based on the slave work as productive force. At this time, the regions around the Mediterranean Sea had large trades and were considered developed for the time, influencing European countries like Portugal and Italy. Later, these methods of production and management of sugarcane were transferred to Brazil in the colonial period (Schwartz, 1988).

After the takeover of Constantinople, there was a monopoly on the production and sale of sugar. To end the monopoly, the Portuguese crown decides, as an alternative, to stimulate the production of sugarcane in its colonies of the American continent. Favorable tropical climate, fertile soil, and abundance of water pointed to Brazil as a land of favorable, even ideal, conditions for the cultivation of Saccharum officinarum, which originally came from the South Pacific and India (Le Couter and Burreson, 2006). Brazil would then affirm at the beginn...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• List of contributors
• Preface
• Chapter 1. Sugarcane world scenario
• Chapter 2. By-products of the sugarcane industry
• Chapter 3. Sugarcane: biorefinery, technology, and perspectives
• Chapter 4. Sugarcane: food production, energy, and environment
• Chapter 5. Sustainability of sugarcane for energy purposes
• Chapter 6. Energy cane breeding
• Chapter 7. Energy from sugarcane
• Chapter 8. Chemical and energy potential of sugarcane
• Chapter 9. Sugarcane for renewable chemistry
• Chapter 10. Use of sugarcane vinasse to biogas, bioenergy, and biofertilizer production
• Chapter 11. Production of second-generation ethanol from sugarcane
• Chapter 12. Biopolymers of sugarcane
• Chapter 13. Bioelectricity of sugarcane: a case study from Brazil and perspectives
• Index