Brazil

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Anglo-Brazilian JV to launch first commercial bagasse cellulosic ethanol production plant in Brazil

April 14, 2013

UK-based TMO Renewables (TMO) and Usina Santa Maria Ltda have entered into an agreement to form a joint venture to build the first commercial production plant in Brazil to convert sugar cane waste (bagasse) to cellulosic bioethanol.

TMO signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Usina Santa Maria Ltda to build Brazil’s first cellulosic bioethanol production facility in São Paulo state. Under the MOU, TMO in joint venture with Usina Santa Maria Ltda will first build, own and operate a 10-million liter (2.6-million gallon US) second-generation ethanol pilot plant to convert bagasse to cellulosic bioethanol.

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SG Biofuels signs deals in Brazil to develop Jatropha as an alternative energy crop

January 29, 2013

SGB, Inc. (SG Biofuels) has signed agreements in Brazil with Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), the country’s leading agricultural research institution, and with Fiagril, one of the country’s leading biodiesel refiners, to advance the development of Jatropha as a next-generation energy crop.

SGB’s strategic research partnership with Embrapa will combine the company’s breeding and genomics platform, including the world’s largest and most diverse library of Jatropha genetic material, with Embrapa’s leadership in the advancement of new technologies that have increased agricultural productivity in Brazil. Embrapa has identified Jatropha as one of the most promising new energy crops in Brazil.

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Video: GM’s Gary Smyth on modeling and simulation as core to powertrain innovation

December 09, 2012

In a video published by Reaction Design, Gary Smyth, executive director of GM’s Science Labs, discusses the successes GM has made and continues to make in developing advanced powertrain systems and vehicles, in large part due to increasing reliance on combustion modeling and simulation.

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Brazilian biofuels with LUC may have much higher non-GHG emissions than conventional gasoline and diesel

September 24, 2012

Comparisons of life-cycle emissions from LUC phase for (a) sugar cane ethanol and (b) soybean biodiesel. Credit: ACS, Tsao et al. Click to enlarge.

When including Land Use Change (LUC) factors, Brazilian sugar cane ethanol and soybean biodiesel have much larger life-cycle emissions than conventional gasoline and biodiesel for six regulated, non-greenhouse gas (GHG) air pollutants, according to a study led by a team from the University of California, Merced. The pollutants are NMHC, CO, NO_x, TPM, PM_2.5 and SO_x.

Even with the application of the “Green Ethanol Protocol”—which will eliminate sugar cane pre-harvest burning in the future—Brazilian biofuels including sugar cane ethanol and soybean biodiesel are still likely to have higher air pollution impacts than conventional fossil fuels due to the LUC effects if the LUC occurs as projected through 2020, according to the researchers. A paper on their work is published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.

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GraalBio to build $145M cellulosic ethanol plant in Brazil; first in the Southern Hemisphere

May 23, 2012

GraalBio will use the Chemtex PROESA cellulosic ethanol process. Source: Chemtex. Click to enlarge.

GraalBio, a biotechnology company of the Graal Group, is planning to build a commercial plant for the production of cellulosic ethanol in Brazil. The company will also install an agricultural station to develop new cane varieties with high fiber content; build a pilot plant to develop new biochemical pathways; and establish a research center to develop genetically modified organisms, which will be used in the production of biochemicals and biofuels.

With a total investment of R$300 million (US$145 million), the plant will have a nominal production capacity of 82 million liters (~22 million gallons US) of ethanol. This first Brazilian cellulosic ethanol plant will be constructed in Alagoas and will initially run using sugarcane bagasse and straw as feedstock, which will be eventually replaced by energy cane.

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