Brazilian Sugarcane Arrives at American Bioethanol Plant
The current demand for low-carbon ethanol, both domestically and internationally, is revolutionizing the global agriculture industry.
Brazilian-grown sugar cane ethanol shipments have begun arriving at a US plant in Georgia. The sugarcane ethanol will be used to supply the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market, according to According to a Bloomberg news report.
Corporate targets indicate SAF usage could amount to 3.3 billion gallons annually by 2030.
The current demand for low-carbon ethanol, both domestically and internationally, is revolutionizing the agriculture industry.
“The question is, will the US be able to participate in these new markets, or will we get left behind?” said Tom Buis, CEO of the American Carbon Alliance. “If we want to see American agriculture survive and thrive, we must ensure corn ethanol is part of the solution when it comes to sustainable aviation fuel. If we don’t act, Brazil will continue to fill the void.”
According to the US Grains Council, Brazil is the second-largest producer of ethanol in the world and was a net exporter supplying markets globally.
In order for American corn ethanol to be used for SAF, companies must lower the carbon score by first adopting a realistic model for calculating the carbon score of corn ethanol such as GREET.
Second, carbon must be captured at the ethanol plants and then sequestered.
Approval of projects such as Summit Carbon Pipeline, which will capture carbon from 57 ethanol plants, or ethanol plants who are directly sequestering, are vital steps in allowing the US to compete for the increased demand for SAF. This will provide economic benefits to rural America.
“The use of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol being used in American SAF plants should be a wake-up call to American farmers. We must adopt GREET and support carbon capture and sequestration if we want a profitable future,” said Buis.
Sugarcane vs. Corn Ethanol
There are a number of differences between corn and sugarcane that could significantly impact the energy, ag and carbon management industries very soon.
Simply put, corn ethanol is primarily produced from corn, while sugarcane ethanol is derived from sugarcane. One of the issues is that the United States mainly produces corn ethanol, while Brazil is a significant producer of sugarcane ethanol.
While using energy resources to transport an agriculture commodity a whole continent away begs for a question of Energy Balance, it is important to point out that sugarcane-based ethanol typically has a higher energy balance compared to corn-based ethanol. Most of the current estimates suggesting up to 7 times greater energy balance.
There are several reasons why this occurs. First, unlike sugar, only 50% of the dry mass of corn kettles (the starch) can be converted into ethanol. Once this is done, that starch must me converted into sugar before it can be distilled into ethanol. There is no need for these first steps when using sugarcane-based ethanol, for obvious reasons. This significantly reduces the operation costs of sugar-based ethanol compared to corn-based ethanol.
Then there are Greenhouse Gas Emissions to consider. Sugarcane ethanol generally has lower greenhouse gas emissions than corn ethanol. Some estimates claim that sugar cane ethanol offers up to an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional fuels.
In addition to Brazil’s lower operating costs, many claim that sugarcane-based ethanol is also more productive. On average, an acre of sugarcane-based ethanol produces about twice as much ethanol as its corn-based counterpart.
However, perhaps the biggest shift in the marketplace is with the cost of transportation. In the past, most studies comparing the costs of sugarcane ethanol in Brazil and corn ethanol in US have typically ignored the costs of transportation of sugarcane ethanol to the US.
This has appeared to have changed as the US ethanol market is now open for Brazilian business.