Bioethanol fuel is a product that results from the fermentation of sugar. It can also be manufactured by chemical means. For example, reacting steam and ethylene. A large percentage of big sugar industries can be a good source of ethanol since sugar is a great an essential raw material in the production of ethanol. The Biomass waste is made of hemi-cellulose, cellulose and lignin. Before undergoing the hydrolysis and fermentation processes to obtain sugars, the biomass must first be passed through acids to reduce the size of the feedstock. Cellulose and hemi-cellulose are broken down into sucrose during hydrolysis. The obtained sucrose is then fermented to produce ethanol. Lignin from biomass waste on the other side is used as fuel for boilers that are used to manufacture ethanol.
Wet Milling Processes
There are two methods into which corn can be processed to ethanol namely dry milling and wet milling process. The corn portion is saturated with warm water during the wet milling process. This separates the proteins and discharge the starch present in the corn and relaxes the kernel during the process of milling. The corn is then processed to create germ, fiber and starch items. The germ is separated to give corn oil and the starch part goes through centrifugation and saccharifcation to create gluten wet cake. By means of distillation, ethanol is then extracted. The ethanol is then removed by the refining procedure. The wet milling process is typically utilized factories creating a few hundred million gallons of ethanol yearly (Lopes et al. 2016, p. 67).
Dry Milling Process
The dry processing process includes cleaning and separating the corn piece into fine particles utilizing a mallet process. This makes a powder with a course flour compose consistency. The powder contains the corn germ, starch and fiber. With a specific end goal to deliver a sugar arrangement the blend is then hydrolyzed or separated into sucrose sugars utilizing chemicals or a weaken corrosive. The blend is then cooled and yeast is included request to age the blend into ethanol (Roebuck 2003, p. 18). The dry processing process is ordinarily utilized as a part of manufacturing plants delivering about 50 million gallons of ethanol consistently.
Sugar Fermentation Process
Cellulose from either corn or biomass is hydrolyzed into sugar solutions. These solutions ate then fermented to produce ethanol. Yeast is then added to help in converting sucrose to fructose and glucose. Yeast in this case is used as a catalyst (Roebuck 2003, p. 18).
The following is the chemical reaction of the fermentation process;
The resultant glucose and fructose then react with zymase to produce carbon dioxide and ethanol.
This whole process of fermentation lasts for about 3 days at a temperature of between 250C and 300C.
Fractional Distillation Process
The ethanol obtained from the fermentation process is distilled to remove some water which is usually present. The mixture is boiled and ethanol distils out first since it has a lower boiling point (78.3C) than water which has a boiling point of 100C (Roebuck 2003, p. 19).
Social & environmental impact of using Bioethanol fuel
Environmental Impacts
The environmental effects of sugar and ethanol in bioethanol production in Brazil incorporate the impacts on air quality, global climate, use of pesticides and fertilizers, land use, biodiversity, soil pollution, and water resources. The ethanol, in comparison to oil and its subsidiaries, exhibit low toxic levels and high biodegradability, this fact is of great significance if there should be an occurrence of accidental spilling and spilling of fuel to shoreline, soil, surface water and groundwater. That implies that, in the event of accidents, the ethanol ecological effects are fairly lower and nature recuperation is quicker than the fossil fuels (GASPARATOS, & STROMBERG 2012, p. 146).
The air quality deprivation in urban areas is a standout amongst the most serious environmental issues globally. Because of high octane levels, the ethanol has effectively supplanted the utilization of harmful toxic antiknock lead substance. As far as air emanations, the utilization of ethanol helps in reducing significant contaminations, for example, carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur oxide (SOx), particles and a few toxic organic compounds, for example, benzene, xylene, 1-3 butadienes, and toluene. Moreover, various studies have demonstrated that the exhaust gas and volatile compounds display less potential to produce photochemical exhaust smog than oil (GASPARATOS, & STROMBERG 2012, p. 146).
The principle impacts of utilizing ethanol either mixed with oil or pure in urban areas include: lessening of carbon monoxide discharges, end of lead compounds from oil, eradication of sulfur and particulate issue, releases less dangerous and photochemical organic compounds reactive.
The sugarcane agroindustry is identified with impacts on air quality in two distinctly ways. The utilization of ethanol has enhanced impressive the air quality in urban areas. Then again, burning of sugarcane straw on the field, in an altogether different scale, causes issues of particulate matter dispersion and smoke hazards (GASPARATOS, & STROMBERG 2012, p. 146).
In spite of the fact that Brazil has the best accessibility of water on the planet, with 14% of the surface water and the identical to yearly spillover in underground water, agricultural irrigation practice is minimal. The sugarcane in Brazil is essentially not irrigated, unless for small zones. This is a great advantageous position compared to other regions globally. Thusly, the environmental issues about water quality coming about because of irrigation (entrainment of supplements, pesticides, disintegration) and industrial use are viewed as less normal in different parts of the world; the sugarcane is considered, in this viewpoint, in the level 1 – no effect in the water quality.
As bioethanol production increases to meet the expanded demand for power, there is is a tendency change in land use. It is critical to take note of that, from 2004 to 2015, the sugarcane production in Central-South area expanded from 283 to 295 metric tons (approximately 60%); however the expansion happened absolutely (94%) in the current units and just 6% in new units. In this manner, the colossal development, truth be told, has so far not included significantly new agrarian borders.
Social Impacts
Notwithstanding environmental effects, it is similarly critical to break down the social effects that bioethanol production and its expansion will cause. The disparities in regional development are available in the work pointers of the industry; the poorest locales are depicted by lower pay rates and higher utilization of labor, depending on the level of technologic use (mechanization and automation). In the agricultural sector, the average level of education in North-Northeast areas is half (in years) of that of Central-South area (Watanabe 2008, p. 46).
The automation and mechanization of production procedure and transformation of industrial parks does not bring losses. The short term effect, without a doubt cause an increase in level of unemployment in the sector, nevertheless, in a long run, they enhance the eradication of employments considered sub-occupations because of their inhuman attributes. However, if these procedures are harmonized with techniques of reallocation and training, its benefits to the general public will be enormous.
As the sector expand, the overabundance of labor as a result of automation and mechanization is being absorbed into these new plants. In this manner, in a moderate and gradual process, without causing extraordinary effects on employment and unemployment balance, the automation and mechanization will provide a sustainable solution to unemployment and economic disparities. In this sense, it is imperative to continuously have inspection and responsibility of government to request these initiatives from the industry.
Efforts to Mitigate the Impacts of Biodiesel Production
There are two phases involved in the production of biodiesel in Brazil that cause social and environmental impacts. These are agricultural and industrial phases. This portion addresses first the primary mitigation and later addresses the long term measures that could settle this mayhem. This brief portion outlines the policies adopted by the Brazilian government to mitigate the afore-mentioned impacts.
Environmental Licensing
The federal law cap 6.938 commissioned the licensing of all states deemed to be contributing to environmental degradation. This law requires a biodiesel production firm to jot down an environmental impact assessment as well as an environmental impact report to be given the licensing. The licensing may be issued or denied whereby biodiesel production should not take place in a delicate ecosystem. The assessment have addressed compensation to areas that have been damaged, regulating water use and improved waste disposal mechanisms. A law was passed in 1997 that requires all biodiesel producers to comply with the licensing terms. It required that producers should commence their operations once they have received approval from the federal statute. The three phase licensing set out by resolution CONAMA were: preliminary, installation and operating licenses (Int'l Business Publications 2015, p. 76).
Waste Management
Among the by-product of biodiesel production is vinasse which is very hazardous. With its disposal in water bodies has contributed to eutrophication. The ministry of interior in Brazil passed a law in 1970 prohibiting the disposal of the by-product into water bodies. The law required that distilleries to lay implementation policies as well as alternative use of this byproduct. Vinasse has been put to important use because of its abundance in organic matter and potassium. It has been used to irrigate and fertilize the sugarcanes which are effective ways to minimize its effects on water bodies. The effective use of this by product has minimized negative impacts that introduce costs of restoring soils while on the other end reducing water consumption rates and soil and groundwater pollutions. Additionally, researchers have found out that vinasse increases alcohol percentage while also reducing the consumption rate of steam used in the distillery process (Watanabe 2008, p. 47).
Agro-Economic Zoning
It was a policy enacted by Brazilian government to combat the unsustainable expansion of sugarcane plantations. The policy has prevented the construction of additional construction of ethanol distillery near water bodies in Amazon and Pantanal forests. Financial providers like banks in the country are providing incentives to producers who are adhering to the zoning process. This is an impetus that is aiming to protect the biodiversity and water bodies thereby encouraging biodiesel production in suitable areas.
Reduction of Pre-Harvest Burning of Sugarcanes
Burning of sugarcane parts (barbojo) to improve crop productivity is a practice that has been used extensively. This has been accelerating particulate matter (PM) emission through air pollution. Minimizing the burning of barbojo would reduce emission of nitrogen oxides, methane, PM, sulfur oxides and carbon monoxide which have been causing health problems to both the employees and inhabitants (Int'l Business Publications 2015, p. 76).
Water Resources Management
Water use for irrigation in sugarcane farms has been reducing at an alarming rate. However, federal statute cap 9.433 of 1997 constituted a policy to charge fees to water usage. This move would see proper water use while also generating the requisite resources to recover and preserve water bodies. These fees have hiked the cost ethanol production thus borrowing ideas of dry cleaning, closings circuits and reuse of sugarcane. This intervention would see water consumption rate reduce in the later years in cultivation and industrial phases.
Socio-Environmental Licensing & Certification
This certification was introduced by a Brazilian multiple stake holder group in 1997 comprising of NGOs, entrepreneurs, researchers and certification technicians. It applied the idea that the certification process should be voluntary, be renewed periodically, done by a third party, be done on consistent standards and have precise procedures (Martinelli, and Filoso 2008. P. 891). The certification was a tool used to address the negative impacts caused by biodiesel production in Brazil. The certification standards attained embraces transparency, credibility and commitment to stakeholders. The Brazilian biodiesel exporters have found the certification crucial as a tool to trade. The certification varies according to customers taste and therefore it varies significantly between producers.
Long Term Mitigation Measures
In order to realize a sustainable environment, Brazil should adopt several key mechanisms to minimize future impacts. First, the producers should establish an environmental assessment as legal prerequisite for the biodiesel production so that the environment can be improved. Secondly, the country should constitute public and environmental awareness so that policies to mitigate these impacts are placed during the biodiesel production. Additionally, the state should strengthen the environmental institutions that would oversee the compliance of the set laws. Finally, producers should reduce wastes and minimize emissions to increase profitability, productivity and efficiency in the biodiesel production (Lopes et al. 2016, p. 72).
Reference
GASPARATOS, A., & STROMBERG, P. (2012). Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts of Biofuels Evidence from Developing Nations. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511920899.Bottom of Form
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Int'l Business Publications, U. (2015). Brazil energy policy, laws and regulations handbook: strategic information and basic laws. [Place of publication not identified], Intl Business Pubns Usa.
Lopes, M.L., de Lima Paulillo, S.C., Godoy, A., Cherubin, R.A., Lorenzi, M.S., Giometti, F.H.C., Bernardino, C.D., de Amorim Neto, H.B. and de Amorim, H.V., 2016. Ethanol production in Brazil: a bridge between science and industry. brazilian journal of microbiology, 47, pp.64-76.Top of FormBottom of Form
Martinelli, L.A. and Filoso, S., 2008. Expansion of sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil: environmental and social challenges. Ecological Applications, 18(4), pp.885-898.
Roebuck, C. M. 2003. Excel HSC chemistry. Glebe, N.S.W.: Pascal Press.
Watanabe, M., 2008. Ethanol Production in Brazil: Bridging its Economic and Environmental Aspects. Int. Assoc. Energy Econ, pp.45-48.
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