Abstract
Corn is one of the possibilities for diversification of Brazilian ethanol production. Four scenarios of analysis were established. The environmental dimension was evaluated by the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, whereas the Thermodynamic performance was verified by applying the techniques of Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) and Cumulative Exergy Demand (CExD). The production of ethanol from corn using wood chips for energy supply of the plant resulted in a homogeneous environmental performance. Factors such direct seeding – and the LHV of the wood for energy support this result. For both Thermodynamic analysis the production of sugarcane ethanol had better indexes because the use of bagasse replaced other sources of primary energy. This result remained for a combined analysis between the two dimensions, which related environmental effects in terms of Climate Change with the aggregation of primary energy consumption for ideal systems.
Highlights
Modern society is deeply dependent on fossil fuels to meet their daily needs
The environmental dimension was evaluated by the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, whereas the Thermodynamic performance was verified by applying the techniques of Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) and Cumulative Exergy Demand (CExD)
The production of ethanol from corn using wood chips for energy supply of the plant resulted in a homogeneous environmental performance
Summary
Modern society is deeply dependent on fossil fuels to meet their daily needs. Crude oil derivatives are finite and have become more costly and difficult to find. Still far from being a trivial practice in Brazil the technology that integrates in a single industrial plant the production of ethanol from corn and sugarcane - cultivated in the region in economic scale - is dominated. These circumstances led to the creation of a pool of distilleries in the State of Mato Grosso with the potential to produce over 250,000 m3 ethanol / year. The initiative has been preparing to supply international markets and apart from a competitive economic performance, the product must demonstrates satisfactory technical and environmental results.
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