Agroindustrial project analysi

THE PROCESSING FACTOR 127tions have been developed. R. Paul Singh" 0 has proposed that theanalyst:* Decide on an objective (for example, to improve the efficiencyof thermal energy used in a process);* Choose a system boundary (for example, a piece of processingequipment or a series of processing operations);* Draw a flow diagram of the process (using standard symbols);`* Identify and quantify all mass and energy inputs (for example,steam, heated air, or electrical energy that crosses the systemboundary);* Identify and quantify all mass and energy outputs (includingany increase in energy incorporated in the product itself).This accounting can generate alternative energy costs per unit ofproduct for different technologies and fuel sources. It can also revealpoints in the process that can benefit from alternative energysources-for example, the use of solar energy to heat water requiredin processing. Food technologists or industrial engineers canprovide the requisite calculations for the estimates in energy accounting.An emerging source of energy for some countries is the agroindustrialproduction of ethanol from biomass.1 2 Biomass-basedethanol is particularly useful as a gasoline substitute and as achemical feedstock, and it can be produced from sugar-bearingmaterials, starches, or celluloses. The basic technology is wellknown, and sugarcane-based ethanol appears to be economic atoil prices of $31 a barrel. A major consideration, however, is thatsufficient land be available for crops intended for ethanol pro-10. R. Paul Singh, "Energy Accounting in Food Process Operations," FoodTechnology, vol. 32, no. 4 (1978), p. 40.11. International Federation of Institutes for Advanced Study (Energy AnalysisWorkshop on Methodology and Conventions, 1974), in "Energy Accountingas a Policy Analysis Tool," Report to the Committee on Science andTechnology, U.S. House of Representatives (Washington, D.C.: U.S. GovernmentPrinting Office, 1976).12. For a more complete analysis, see World Bank, "Alcohol Productionfrom Biomass in the Developing Countries" (Washington, D.C., September1980).