L.A.B. Cortez

Potential for the use of pyrolytic tar from bagasse in industry

Abstract Tar from pyrolyzed bagasse was characterized according to its main structural features. Its solubility in NaOH solutions results in an alkaline tar solution (ATS) that exhibits surface active properties. The prepared ATS was successfully used as a foam flotation agent in copper mining, as a foaming agent in foam concrete formation, and as a fluidization agent for Portland cement manufacture. The potentialities of by-products of conventional pyrolysis and carbonization processed are stressed.

A global conversation about energy from biomass: the continental conventions of the global sustainable bioenergy project

The global sustainable bioenergy (GSB) project was formed in 2009 with the goal of providing guidance with respect to the feasibility and desirability of sustainable, bioenergy-intensive futures. Stage 1 of this project held conventions with a largely common format on each of the worlds continents, was completed in 2010, and is described in this paper. Attended by over 400 persons, the five continental conventions featured presentations, breakout sessions, and drafting of resolutions that were unanimously passed by attendees. The resolutions highlight the potential of bioenergy to make a large energy supply contribution while honouring other priorities, acknowledge the breadth and complexity of bioenergy applications as well as the need to take a systemic approach, and attest to substantial intra- and inter-continental diversity with respect to needs, opportunities, constraints and current practice relevant to bioenergy. The following interim recommendations based on stage 1 GSB activities are offered: — Realize that it may be more productive, and also more correct, to view the seemingly divergent assessments of bioenergy as answers to two different questions rather than the same question. Viewed in this light, there is considerably more scope for reconciliation than might first be apparent, and it is possible to be informed rather than paralysed by divergent assessments. — Develop established and advanced bioenergy technologies such that each contributes to the others success. That is, support and deploy in the near-term meritorious, established technologies in ways that enhance rather than impede deployment of advanced technologies, and support and deploy advanced technologies in ways that expand rather than contract opportunities for early adopters and investors. — Be clear in formulating policies what mix of objectives are being targeted, measure the results of these policies against these objectives and beware of unintended consequences. — Undertake further exploration of land efficiency levers and visions for multiply-beneficial bioenergy deployment. This should be unconstrained by current practices, since we cannot hope to achieve a sustainable and a secure future by continuing the practices that have led to the unsustainable and insecure present. It should also be approached from a global perspective, based on the best science available, and consider the diverse realities, constraints, needs and opportunities extant in different regions of the world. The future trajectory of the GSB project is also briefly considered.

Technical and economic assessment of trash recovery in the sugarcane bioenergy production system

Mechanized sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) harvest without burning has been increasingly adopted in Brazil, increasing trash availability on the field. This study aims at showing the importance of using an integrated framework tool to assess technical and economic impacts of integral harvesting and baling trash recovery strategies and different recovery rates as well as its implications in the sugarcane production, transport and processing stages. Trash recovery using baling system presents higher costs per unit of mass of recovered trash in comparison to system in which trash is harvested and transported with sugarcane stalks (integral harvesting system). However, the integrated agricultural and industrial assessment showed that recovering trash using baling system presents better economic results (higher internal rate of return and lower ethanol production cost) than the integral harvesting system for trash recovery rates higher than 30 %. Varying trash recovery fraction, stalks productivity and mean transport distance for both integral harvesting and baling systems, sensitivity analyses showed that higher trash recovery fractions associated with higher stalks yields and long transport distances favors baling system, mainly due to the reduction of bulk load density for integral harvesting system under those conditions.

Cooling parameters for fruits and vegetables of different sizes in a hydrocooling system

The cooling of fruits and vegetables in hydrocooling system can be a suitable technique. This work aimed to define cooling time for fruits and vegetables of different sizes, presenting practical indexes that could be used to estimate cooling time for produce with similar characteristics. Fruits (orange melon-Cucumis melo, mango-Mangifera indica, guava-Psidium guajava, orange-Citrus sinensis Osbeck, plum-Prunus domestica, lime-Citrus limon, and acerola-Prunus cerasus) and vegetables (cucumber-Cucumis sativus, carrot-Daucus carota, and green bean-Phaseolus vulgaris), were cooled in a hydrocooling system at 1°C. The volume of fruits and vegetables ranged between 8.18 cm3 and 1,150.35 cm3, and between 13.06 cm3 and 438.4 cm3, respectively. Cooling time varied proportionally to produce volume (from 8.5 to 124 min for fruits, and from 1.5 to 55 min, for vegetables). The relationship between volume and time needed to cool fruits (from 1.03 min cm-3 to 0.107 min cm-3) and vegetables (from 0.06 min cm-3 to 0.12 min cm-3) is an index that could be used to estimate cooling time for fruits and vegetables with similar dimensions as those presented in this work.

Modernizing Cane Production to Enhance the Biomass Base in Brazil

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses modernization of cane production in Brazil to enhance the biomass base in the country. The most important biomass sources in Brazil are sugarcane and forest residues. The Brazilian sugar industry is almost as old as the country itself. Today, Brazil is the largest sugarcane producer in the world, being responsible for nearly 25% of the total cane production, 13.5% of the sugar production, and 55% of the worlds ethanol. The cultivated area covered by sugarcane plantations reaches more than 5 million ha or 1.5% of the total arable land in the country. This chapter evaluates the technologies available for green cane harvesting, how they need to be improved, and how they can help enhance the biomass available for energy conversion in Brazil. The chapter analyzes some of the difficulties and barriers that need to be addressed in favor of the adoption of such technologies. The chapter focuses particularly on the technological barriers, thereby showing how productivity of sugarcane production systems can be improved while also helping improve the overall economy of this industry.