Production and use of fuel ethanol in Brazil - BAFF

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B2.5.
Is there any regulation to control the use of
vinasse as a fertilizer?
Vinasse is a product of distillation of the wine (fermented sugar-cane juice) for
ethanol production. It has been acknowledged for several years that the vinasse can
be a valuable organic fertilizer (replacing potassium), as well as an important source
of water replacement on the soil. Accordingly, it has been used by the sugar-cane
industry for fertigation, giving back to the soil the salts and other nutrients that
sugar-cane extracts from it as it grows and matures. While providing major benefits
by reducing the need for water and chemical fertilizers, fertigation is an economic,
sustainable way of recycling and disposing of such byproduct.
In the State of São Paulo, the application of vinasse to farm soils is regulated by
Technical Standard P4.231, issued by the CETESB (Companhia de Tecnologia de
Saneamento Ambiental), the environmental agency of the State Department of the
Environment.
The Technical Standard improves the common practice for setting limits on the
application of vinasse to the soil based on its potassium (K) concentration, among
other things. It also imposes a series of environmental protection measures,
including a quality monitoring of underground waters in areas where the vinasse is
used in order to prevent or control contamination.
The industries based in São Paulo are required to submit to CETESB on a yearly
basis a vinasse application plan demonstrating their compliance with the Standard,
which plan is used in inspection activities. The technical improvement of São Paulo’s
Technical Standard tends to become a nationwide standard.
B2.6.
Are there any statutes on emissions of
atmospheric pollutants from boilers fed with
sugar-cane bagasse?
The bagasse is a lignocellulosic waste left by the sugar-cane juice extraction process.
Because it contains a large amount of fibers, it can be used as a fuel for boilers,
replacing the fossil fuels that are generally used in the country (fuel oil and natural
gas). It is now considered an important byproduct for increasing the energy to be
B. Sugar-cane and ethanol production: environmental aspects