Abstract
Gasoline produced in Mexico by the productive company of the state Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) mainly uses oil-derived ethers as oxygenators to reach the Mexican Regulatory ‘Framework’s octane number. An alternative to complying with these regulations could be to use bioethanol as an oxygenate. However, as a gasoline component, this could affect ‘Mexico’s food markets since sugar cane, and grains are the primary inputs for local production. The main objective of this study is to evaluate whether the use of bioethanol, produced from corn stubble, as an additive in gasoline produced by Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) is profitable in Mexico, from the perspective of the evaluation of the supply chain and the finances. The purpose of this work is to contribute to the definition of the advantages and limitations for the existence of a second-generation bioethanol market produced from Lignocellulosic corn biomass and integrated into the gasoline market of national production in Mexico. The work starts with theoretical research to define the use of corn stubble as raw material, set up on its availability and feasibility determined based on a geographic information system (GIS), through the use of the agricultural production forecast approach, as well as the integration of costs and financial analysis. The results show that corn stubble bioethanol production is technically viable, but the production cost is not competitive yet. Although its price is not yet competitive compared to the imported price, using a fiscal incentive scheme and considering the decrease in energy dependence, it would be feasible to produce it in Mexico.
Highlights
As an alternative to the use of fossil fuels, in the 20th century, the United States of ‘America’s government implemented public policies that supported the conversion of chemical energy stored in plants by deriving starch conversion into ethanol
The proposed demand is estimated based on the substitution of Methyl Ter Butyl Ether (MTBE) in gasoline, based on the data of the average gasoline production in Mexico in the period 2010–2019, reported by the Secretaría de Energía (SENER is its acronym in Spanish; Ministry of Energy) through the SIE [41] and consists of around 1 Tg of ethanol for the 5.8% incorporation scenario (E5.8) and 1.7 Tg of ethanol for the 10% incorporation scenario (E10)
Scenario ethanol in gasoline at 10% (E10), considering ethanol exclusively as an oxygenator, would be out of specification, derived from the ruling issued by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation in January 2020, in which the use of ethanol at 10% was declared unconstitutional in gasoline [45]
Summary
As an alternative to the use of fossil fuels, in the 20th century, the United States of ‘America’s government implemented public policies that supported the conversion of chemical energy stored in plants by deriving starch conversion into ethanol. This conversion consumes a significant part of corn production in the United States of America. Regardless of its origin, bioethanol or that produced by chemical synthesis from hydrocarbons can be used mainly as a solvent or raw material to synthesize other products, as a fuel substitute (component), and as an additive in gasoline used in the transport sector. In ‘Mexico’s latter case, it is assumed that it can be used as a substitute for Methyl Ter Butyl Ether (MTBE) since NOM-016-CRE-2016 [1] allows the use of ethanol as an oxygenator in gasoline in contents of up to 10% of the volume
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