Gasohol

International Biofuels Opportunities The Royal Society
London, 2007
Ethanol Production and Use in Latin America: Facts and Potential

Luiz A. Horta Nogueira
Universidade Federal de Itajub Brasil
L.A. Horta Nogueira (UNIFEI) Ethanol Production and Use in Latin America: Facts and Potential
Ethanol Production and Use in Latin America: Facts and Potential

Three national gasohol programs (Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica) are reviewed and an evaluation of Latin-American potential for ethanol production is presented.
Contents
1. Introduction 2. The Brazilian alcohol fuel program 3. Bio-ethanol program in Colombia 4. Gasohol program in Costa Rica 5. Prospects for Latin America 6. Conclusions
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1. Introduction
Ethanol use as motor fuel is old as the automotive industry is.
Henry Ford, pure ethanol car (1896)
Since 1931 Brazil cars use regularly gasohol blends and several tests were carried out with pure ethanol
% ethanol
25% 20% 15% 10% 5%
% etanol
0% 1925
1945
1965
1985
2005
Ethanol content in Brazilian gasoline 3
1. Introduction
In the 80s, many Latin-American countries put forward gasohol programs, without continuity Drivers for growing interest in ethanol as fuel
- national energy reliance - environmental sustainability - agriculture activation - economic feasibility
Urban atmospheric conditions are strongly affected by vehicular emissions 4
2. The Brazilian alcohol fuel program

Created in 1975, the fuel ethanol industry in Brazil nowadays is a consolidated renewable energy program, representing US$ 8.3 billion per year (1.6% of GDP) and 3.6 million of direct jobs. The current production is equivalent to 200,000 oil barrels per day, mainly consumed in Brazil, where represents 40% of gasoline market.
20
Millions of m 3
US$ cents/liter 80
15 60 10 40
Ethanol production and prices for producers, ex-taxes
production of ethanol prices for producer ex-taxes 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
20 0
2. The Brazilian alcohol fuel program

In order to supply a growing domestic ethanol demand associated to the flex-fuel cars success and possibly trading opportunities, in the forthcoming years the ethanol production capacity in Brazil should increase up to 30 million m3.
Ethanol mills: existent and under construction
Usinas existentes Usinas em implantao
3. Bio-ethanol program in Colombia

By Law 693, issued in 2001, ethanol production and use as fuel recently started in Colombia. This law establishes that until September 2006, gasolines used in urban centers with more than 500 million inhabitants should be oxygenated with 10% of ethanol. Several subsidiary legislation were issued. The main aims are: reduction of vehicle emissions, creation of agricultural jobs, agro-industrial development and energy selfsufficiency.

Ethanol use has begun before indicated in Law 693. After being introduced in Southeast and in the coffee producing zone in November 2005, the gasohol use started in Bogota and in center of Colombia in February 2006, intending to reach all Colombia progressively. It is expected that ethanol demand will reach 719 m3 per day at the end of 2006, corresponding to 262 million liters per year or 6% of Colombian consumption of gasoline.

The current production capacity is 1,100 m3 per day and new plants are in construction, in some cases using non conventional feedstock.
Production unit Raw material Now operating Incauca Mill Providencia Mill Manuelita Mill Mayagez Mill Risaralda Mill sugarcane sugarcane sugarcane sugarcane sugarcane Planned or in construction Petrotesting S.A. Alcohol S.A. Maquilagro Sicarare Mill cassava sugarcane beet cassava 30 300-100 300 100 December/2006 2008 (1 Semester) 2008 (1 Semester) 2008 (1 Semester) 300 250 300 150 100 October/2005 October/2005 March/2006 February/2006 February/2006 Capacity (m3/day) Operation date

The introduction of ethanol as fuel in Colombia was preceded by carefully preparation, through press campaigns, outdoors, electronic media, workshops and courses, oriented for all agents involved (gas station staff, mechanical shops employees, vehicles traders, taxi drivers and private vehicles drivers, control centers) aiming to improve trusting and knowledge of users regarding ethanol and gasohol. Several tests were carried out in Colombia to evaluate ethanol impact in vehicle emissions and fuel economy in vehicles typical of Colombian fleet, with good results.
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4. Gasohol program in Costa Rica

The former experience of gasohol in Costa Rica in 1981 was not well succeed, basically due ethanol specification problems. Anyway, the ethanol production remained in Costa Rica mills, for exporting to USA and other countries. On May 2003 the government of Costa Rica issued the Decree Nr. 31087-MAG-MINAE, creating a Commission to formulate, identify and design strategies for using anhydrous ethanol, distilled in the country and using local raw materials, as substitute of gasoline MTBE.
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The main purposes were agro-industrial development, environmental improvement, diversification of energy sources and reduction of dependence on imported fuel. Different stakeholders were involved aiming to define the proper conditions for ethanol use in Costa Rica. At first, introduction of gasohol was intended to start in January 2005, however a legal appeal was interposed against compulsory blending and caused the suspension of this plan. In spite of this, the Costa Rica government continued with the ethanol program by pilot projects intending to promote knowledge for logistic and handling of product.
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Considering the difficulties observed in the 80s, pilot projects had been carefully designed and introduced gradually in four phases, basically managed by state oil company RECOPE. In the first phase, a field test in 28 vehicles was carried out, using a gasohol with 10% ethanol, allowing to conclude that: 1. Motors shown higher efficiency with gasohol than with normal gasoline. 2. The vehicles needed no corrective maintenance during the test (no mechanical damages were observed in motors and fuel systems). 3. Hydrocarbons (unburned fuels) and CO emissions did not overcome national limits and were similar to those obtained with regular gasoline.
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The second phase, in development, is trading gasoline with 7.5% ethanol in 64 Guanacaste and Central Pacific service stations, supplying a fleet of approximately 50,000 consumers, about 12.5% of gasoline consumption of the country. Previously to gasohol trading, staff responsible for handing and quality control of ethanol in terminals was trained, base gasoline was properly formulated, service stations tanks were checked out and all people directly interested about use of gasohol were informed about gasohol. This test is being accomplished since February 2006, with positive results and a small number of complain from consumers.
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Ethanol used was purchased by RECOPE by an international public tender, imported from Brazil as the national production is exported to the United States. Now the ethanol production in Costa Rica is expanding to supply also the internal market. Next phases will be the analysis of results and eventually gasohol introduction in national scale, which will require: a) to endow RECOPE infrastructure for ethanol storage, blending and distribution, b) to define the necessary legal basis and c) to define aspects concerning agro-industry and energy sectors involvement.
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5. Prospects for Latin America

Intending to evaluate ethanol potential in Latin American countries (excluding Brazil), two scenarios were considered to promote a blend of 10% ethanol in gasoline: 1) conversion of exhausted molasses, considering a productivity of 78 liters of ethanol per ton of sugar produced (about 8.6 liters per sugarcane ton) 2) direct juice conversion in ethanol, under a productivity of 75 sugarcane tons per hectare and a conversion of 80 liters of ethanol per ton of sugarcane. Data for gasoline consumption, sugar production and cultivated area was obtained from OLADE and FAOSTAT.
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Cuba Guyana Nicaragua Guatemala El Salvador Colombia Peru Paraguay Honduras Bolivia Costa Rica Argentina Rep. Dominican Ecuador Barbados Panama Jamaica Trinidad Tobago Mexico Haiti Venezuela Surinam Uruguay
% of demand
Results for Scenario 1: fraction of ethanol required to make E10 which can be supplied from conversion of currently available exhausted molasses, without changes in sugar production or sugarcane planted area.
50
100
150
200
250
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Colombia Costa Rica Mexico Panama Bolivia Rep. Dominican Nicaragua Honduras Paraguay Guatemala Guyana Jamaica Argentina Cuba Ecuador El Salvador Peru Trinidad Tobago Haiti Venezuela Barbados Surinam Uruguay
% of current total cultivated area % of current sugar cane area
Results for Scenario 2: additional areas required to make E10 directly from sugarcane juice, as a fraction of currently total and sugarcane cultivated areas
50
100
150
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6. Conclusions
Ethanol use as fuel is a reality in some Latin American countries, presenting diversified purposes, different productive structures and scales, basically using sugarcane as raw material and with good expansion prospects. Practically all countries in Latin America are sugarcane producers with important agro-industries for sugar and distilled beverage production. Thus, ethanol production does not represent a sensitive innovation and effectively the prospects for local production of this biofuel should be considered promising.
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6. Conclusions
As main results, based on data of 23 countries Latin-American with more than 10,000 ha of sugar cane area (excluding Brazil), just taking into account the available exhausted molasses from sugar mills will be possible to reach 22% of ethanol required to make E10. In another scenario, assuming autonomous distilleries, processing straight cane juice to ethanol, will be necessary to grow cane in about 1.14 million ha (4% of available agricultural area) in those countries. The potential ethanol production in this case is equivalent to 65.4 million barrels of oil every year, representing imported fuel savings of about US$ 4,600 million per year.
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Luiz A. Horta Nogueira horta@unifei.edu.br
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International Biofuels Opportunities The Royal Society

Ethanol Production and Use in Latin America: Facts and Potential

Ethanol Production and Use in Latin America: Facts and Potential

Henry Ford, pure ethanol car (1896)

25% 20% 15% 10% 5%

Ethanol content in Brazilian gasoline 3

Urban atmospheric conditions are strongly affected by vehicular emissions 4

2. The Brazilian alcohol fuel program

Ethanol production and prices for producers, ex-taxes

2. The Brazilian alcohol fuel program

Ethanol mills: existent and under construction

Usinas existentes Usinas em implantao

3. Bio-ethanol program in Colombia

3. Bio-ethanol program in Colombia

3. Bio-ethanol program in Colombia

3. Bio-ethanol program in Colombia

4. Gasohol program in Costa Rica

4. Gasohol program in Costa Rica

4. Gasohol program in Costa Rica

4. Gasohol program in Costa Rica

4. Gasohol program in Costa Rica

5. Prospects for Latin America

% of current total cultivated area % of current sugar cane area

Luiz A. Horta Nogueira horta@unifei.edu.br

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