Abstract
Sugarcane straw has become available in large quantities in the field due to transition from manual to mechanical harvesting. Straw can be used as fuel for cogeneration systems of sugarcane mills to increase surplus electricity for commercialization. However, the exploitation of straw potential is still limited due to some challenges related to its agricultural recovery and industrial processing. The retrofit (additional installation) of existing sugarcane mills to process straw is an alternative to reduce investment and to allow a gradual utilization of this biomass. In this work, techno-economic and environmental assessment of straw recovery through bale system to increase electricity export was assessed. Two scenarios with straw recovery and processing were defined to take advantage of an existing cogeneration system, considering its operation in the season and off-season periods. An increase of up to 57% on surplus electricity was achieved. Both scenarios resulted in economically feasible alternatives. However, results were very sensitive to the variations on electricity prices and straw costs. In terms of environmental benefits, the bioelectricity presented a great potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions compared with natural gas–based electricity. The higher electricity surplus also affects the carbon intensity of ethanol, which can lead to indirect gains when the Brazilian program for biofuels incentive is implemented.
Highlights
In Brazil, a transition from manual to mechanical harvesting has been observed in the sugarcane sector, especially in the Center-South region of Brazil
The straw recovery cost with the bale system depends on the amount of straw recovered per hectare; e.g., increasing from 3 to 5 tdb/ha, the cost is reduced from US$37 to US$27 per tonne, which corresponds to a 26% reduction
The straw recovery costs with bales depend on the amount of straw recovered per hectare
Summary
In Brazil, a transition from manual to mechanical harvesting has been observed in the sugarcane sector, especially in the Center-South region of Brazil. This transition was motivated by legislation prohibiting sugarcane pre-harvesting burning and other economic, social, and environmental issues related to the manual harvesting [1, 2]. In terms of green (non-burned) cane harvesting, mechanization presented lower sugarcane production costs. Changing from manual harvesting of burned cane to mechanical harvesting of green cane, a reduction on climate change impacts was observed due to the decrease of greenhouse gases emissions and particulate material associated with the sugarcane pre-harvesting burning
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