World Energy Outlook 2006

Box 16.4: Technological Developments in Sugar-Cane and Ethanol Production
Most of the reduction in the cost of producing ethanol in recent years has
come from the agricultural phase of ethanol production. Around 60% to
70% of the final cost of ethanol is the cost of the sugar cane. Agricultural
yield and the amount of sucrose in the plant have a strong impact on cost.
Average productivity in Brazil is around 65 tonnes per hectare (t/ha), but it
can be as high as 100 to 110 t/ha in São Paulo State. Since the beginning of
ProAlcool, yields have improved by about 33% in São Paulo, with the
development of new varieties and the improvement of agricultural practices
(IAEA, 2006). Many operations have been mechanised over the past
25 years, but advances in harvesting are more recent. In the past five years
in the midwest, southeast and southern regions, about 35% of the area
planted with sugar cane has been harvested mechanically and, of this, about
20% has been harvested without previously burning the field. Up to 90%
of the sugar cane is harvested mechanically in some regions. It is estimated
that the widespread application of mechanised harvesting would achieve a
significant further reduction in the per-tonne cost of sugar cane.
Throughout the evolution of ProAlcool, technological priorities have
changed. Initially, the focus was on increasing equipment productivity. The
size of Brazilian mills also increased. Some mills now have a crushing
capacity of 6 million tonnes of sugar cane per year and capacity is expected
to increase to 10 million tonnes by 2010. The focus was then shifted to
improvements in conversion efficiencies. Over the past 15 years, the
primary focus has been on better management of the processing units. In
the future, attention is expected to be given to reducing water needs. On
average, five cubic metres (cm) of water are used for each tonne of sugar
cane processed, though values range from 0.7 cm/tonne to 20 cm/tonne.
Average ethanol production yields have grown from 3 900 litres per hectare
per year (l/ha/year) in the early 1980s to 5 600 l/ha/year in the late 1990s. In
the most efficient units, yields are now as high as 8 000 to 10 000 l/ha/year.
programmes in these countries, Brazilian sugar producers can export ethanol to
the United States. Brazil is also working more generally to remove trade barriers
that prevent the development of a global biofuels market.
To meet rising domestic and export demand for ethanol, the Brazilian
government plans to increase productive capacity and to build ports with storage
tanks and loading facilities. It also plans to improve railway and pipeline links
between the ports and sugar-producing regions. Petrobras is building a new
ethanol port in Santos, which will increase Brazil’s export capacity to 5.6 billion
litres by the end of 2007. New waterways are also planned (Figure 16.13).
Chapter 16 - Focus on Brazil 477
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