Abstract
This study aimed at analyzing the corn ethanol production in South America, more specifically the Brazilian experiences during the last decade. The evaluation of various experiences and calculations of the most representative variables on the subject showed that in the short and medium term, there are no conditions for corn ethanol becoming a widespread practice, neither in Brazil nor in any other South American country. A comparative analysis was conducted considering three variables: Leveled Cost of Fuel (LCOF); Energy Return on Investment (EROI) and Land use. The LCOF calculations show that corn ethanol LCOF is 43% cheaper in Mato Grosso State (MT) than in Sao Paulo State (SP). Corn ethanol’s LCOF is 2.8 times and 1.26 times cheaper than the sugarcane ethanol LCOF in SP and MT states, respectively. Sugarcane ethanol EROI is 27% higher than corn ethanol EROI. For land use, it took 18 × 106 ha to produce 1,054,858 L of corn ethanol in MT during the 2019 harvesting season. This surface is 1 × 106 hectares bigger than the area used to produce the same amount of sugarcane ethanol.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alonso-Pippo, Walfrido, Carlos A. Luengos, Lidice Alonsoamador Morales. Alberteris, García Gilberto. del Pino, and Sergio Duvoisin Juniorn. 2013. Practical implementation of liquid biofuels: The transferability of the Brazilian experiences. Energy Policy 60: 70–80.
ANP. 2016. National Agency of oil natural gas and Biofuels (Agencia Nacional de petróleo gas Natural e biocombustíveis). http://www.anp.gov.br/precos-e-defesa-da-concorrencia/precos/boletim-anual-de-precos. Accessed 13 July 2020.
APEC. 2010. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Biofuel Costs, Technologies and Economics in APEC Economies. APEC Energy Working Group (APEC Project EWG 16/2009), Delaware, ON N0L1E0 CANADA.
Aprosoja. 2016. Clusters Corn Ethanol in T.M.T. State (Cluster Ethanol Milho em M.T.) (original em Portuguese).
Brazil School. 2020. Educator Channel. https://educador.brasilescola.uol.com.br/estrategias-ensino/o-estudo-regiao-centrooeste.htm. Accessed 17 September 2020.
Brito Cruz Carlos H., Glaucia Mendes Souza and Luiz A. Barbosa Cortez. 2014.Chapter 11 - Biofuels for Transport. In Future Energy: 215–244. Elsevier.
Cana Online. 2018. Corn' ''s Ethanol began in the Usimat sugarcane mill. Cana Online, nº 51, 27 02.
Chiras, D. 2005. The Homeowner’s Guide to Renewable Energy. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers.
CONAB. 2019. Brazilian National Supply Company. Corn Historical Serie Mato Grosso State, Sept 2019 Histórico Milho Mato Grosso Conjuntura 1ª Quinzena de Setembro 2019, Ano 5 nº 68.odt. https://www.conab.gov.br/info-agro/analises-do-mercado-agropecuario-e-extrativista/analise-regional-do-mercado-agropecuario/analise-regional-mt-milho?start=20. Accessed 11 Octuber 2020.
CONAB. 2018. Brazilian National Supply Company. (Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento). HISTORICAL SERIES OF CROPS (Safra Brasileira de Grãos) 2018. https://www.conab.gov.br/info-agro/safras/serie-historica-das-safras. Accessed 07 September 2020.
Cook, R. 2020. Beef 2 Live. 13 September 2020. https://beef2live.com/story-world-beef-production-ranking-countries-0-106885#:~:text=United%20States%20%26%20Brazil%20remain%20world's,20%25%20of%20the%20world's%20beef. Accessed 27 September 2020.
Crago, Christine L., Khanna Madhu, Barton Jason, Giuliani Eduardo, and Amaral Weber. 2010. Competitiveness of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol. Energy Policy 11: 7404–7415.
Cunha, A. R. 2019. """"A os Fatos"""," 19 February 2019. https://www.aosfatos.org/noticias/como-o-icms-influencia-os-precos-de-combustiveis-e-contas-publicas-nobrasil/#:~:text=Segundo%20dados%20da%20Fecombust%C3%ADveis%2C%20no,20%25%20do%20pre%C3%A7o%20do%20etanol. Accessed 15 October 2020.
Dale, B. 2008. Biofuels: Thinking Clearly about the Issues. Journal of Agricultural and Land Food Chemistry 56: 3885–3891.
Dall’Agnol A. 2019. AGROLINK. https://www.agrolink.com.br/colunistas/coluna/etanol-domilho_418884.html#:~:text=A%20produ%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20de%20etanol%20pode,milho%3A%20moagem%20seca%20ou%20%C3%BAmida%20.&text=No%20processo%20via%20%C3%BAmida%2C%20o,milho%20passa%20por%20uma%20moagem. Accessed 27 September 2020.
De Lima Rafael Ribeiro Filho, Maranhão Gustavo Adolpho Aguiar and Torres Alcides.2014. Eucalyptus Profitability of its production in Brazil. Agroanalisys: 19–21.
EMBRAPA. 2017. Brazilian Agricultural and Livestock Research (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária).Rural Canal. https://www.canalrural.com.br/noticias/producao-etanol-pode-ser-destino-para-excesso-milho-diz-embrapa-68695/. Accessed 27 September 2020.
EPA. 2007. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Laws & Regulations Summary of the Energy Independence and Security Act. Public Law 110–140 (2007). https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-energy-independence-and-security-act. Accessed 10 Aug 2020.
EPE. 2020. The Energy Research Office, Brazil (Empresa Pesquisas Energéticas). Publications. Conjuntural situation of Biofuels, 2020. https://www.epe.gov.br/sites-pt/publicacoes-dados-abertos/publicacoes/PublicacoesArquivos/publicacao-489/Apresentacao_Analise_Conjuntura_Ano_2019.pdf. Accessed 13 Sept 2020.
EPEa. 2019. The Energy Research Office, Brazil. Brazilian Energy Balance 2019 (2018 based). https://www.epe.gov.br/pt/publicacoes-dados-abertos/publicacoes/balanco-energetico-nacional-2019. Accessed 13 Sept 2020.
FAO. 2013. Food and Agriculture Organization of UN. Regional Oficce for LAC (Original in Spanish), La Bioenergia en América Latina y El Caribe El estado de arte en países seleccionados, Santiago de Chile: FAO.
FARMNEWS. 2020. Historical data on corn exports from Brazil (Original in Portugues). http://www.farmnews.com.br/mercado/exportacao-de-milho-do-brasil-2/. Accessed 09 July 2020.
Ferraz Dias de Moraes, M. 2006. Considerations on ethanol industry of Brazil. Biofuels in Brazil: Realities and perspectives. (Original in Portuguese). http://www.dc.mre.gov.br/imagens-e-textos/temas-brasil. Accessed 04 Sept 2020.
Foelkel C. 2020. Eucalyptus Online Books and Newsletters. http://www.eucalyptus.com.br/eucaexpert/1014_Relacoes%20volumes%20madeira%20e%20cavacos.pdf. Accessed 02 September 2020].
Goldemberg, J. 2007. Ethanol for a sustainable energy future. Science 315: 808–810.
IBGE.2020.Brazilian Institute of Geografy (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística), "IBGE Historical Series (Series históricas) Table 6588. https://seriesestatisticas.ibge.gov.br/. Accessed 09 November 2020.
Ileleji Klein E., Sokhansanj Shahab, and Cundiff John S. 2010. Chapter 7 Farm - Gate to Plant - Gate Delivery. In Blackwell Publishing.
Index Mundia. 2020. Fuel Ethanol Consumption by Country. https://www.indexmundi.com/energy/?product=ethanol&graph=consumption&display=rank. Accessed 26 Jan 2021.
Index Mundib. 2021. South America Fuel Ethanol Consumption Map. 2021. https://www.indexmundi.com/energy/?region=sa&product=ethanol&graph=consumption&display=map. Accessed 28 Jan 2021.
Index Mundi. 2020. https://www.indexmundi.com/agriculture/?commodity=corn&graph=yield. Accessed 01 September 2020.
InfraCompass. 2020. Global Infrastructure Hub. Deloitte. G20 Inicitive. 2019.
INPASA.INC. 2018. Inpasa del Paraguay, S.A. INPASA. Nueva Esperanza, PY. https://www.inpasa.com.py/en/. Accessed 28 Jan 2020.
INPE. 2020. National Institute for Space Research. INPE, News. Ministry of Science and Technology. http://www.inpe.br/noticias/noticia.php?Cod_Noticia=5615. Accessed 22 Jan 2021.
Iowa State University. 2006. Extension and Outreach, " Ethanol Profitability". https://www.google.com/search?q=iowa+state+University%2C+ethaonol+Cost%2C+2013&oq=iowa+state+University%2C+ethaonol+Cost%2C+2013&aqs=chrome..69i57.60305j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8. Accessed 12 Dec 2020.
IPEA. 2010. Institute of Apply Economic Research. Economic Infrastructure, in Brazil. Diagnostic and Perspective for 2025, ISBN 978-85-7811-055-0 ed., vol. 6, Brasilia: 581.
Kwiatkowski Jason R., McAloon Andrew J., Taylor David Frank and Johnston, B. 2006.Modeling the process and costs of fuel ethanol production by the corn dry-grind process. Industrial Crops and Products 23(3):288–296.
Lèbre La Rovere Emilio, Andre Santos Pereira and Andre Felipe Simoes. 2011. Biofuels and sustainable energy development in Brazil. World Development 39 (6):1026–1036.
Macedo, Isaías C., Seabra E.A. Joaquin, and E.A.R. Silva João. 2008. Green house gases emissions in the production and use of Ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil: The 2005/2006 averages and a prediction to 2020. Biomass and BioEnergy 32: 582–595.
Melo Ramalho Moreira Marcelo, Marques Arantes Sofia. 2018. INPUT (Land Use Iniciative). https://www.inputbrasil.org/publicacoes/analise-socioeconomica-e-ambiental-da-producao-de-etanol-de-milho-no-centro-oeste-brasileiro/. Accessed 11 Oct 2020.
Moreira, J., and J. Goldemberg. 1999. The alcohol program. Energy Policy 4: 229–245.
Neiva, D. P. S., D. B. Furtado, J. R. Finzer. 2018. Thermal Capacity and Heating Power of Eucalyptus Biomass (Original in Portuguese). In II Meeting of Industrial Processes Development (Original in Portuguese), UBERABA, Brazil.
NREL. 2017. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Open E.I. US Depertmant of Energy, 24 August. http://openei.org/apps/TCDB/index.php?pMin=2009&pMax=2013&ff=h&fft=c&dol=0&pub=&t=gge&ct=b. Accessed 20 Oct 2020.
Pimentel David, Zhang Jessica and Palmer Sarah. 2012. Energy production from corn. Environment, Development and Sustainability 14:221–231.
Piracicaba Enghenaria. 2019. Sugarcane Ethanol vs Corn Ethanol (Original in Portuguese). https://www.piracicabaengenharia.com.br/etanol-de-cana-x-etanol-de-milho/. Accessed 12 Apr 2020.
Presidency of the Republic, Brazil. 2001. Union Official Diary. LAW No. 10,203, of February 22, 2001. Brazilian Goverment, 22 FEBRUARY 2001. http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/LEIS/LEIS_2001/L10203.htm. Accessed 14 Oct 2020.
Renewable Fuels Association. 2004. https://afdc.energy.gov/data/10331#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20is%20the,84%25%20of%20the%20world's%20ethanol. Accessed 04 Oct 2020.
Rural Channel. 2020. Agricultural News. Sugarcane. 18 05 2020. https://www.canalrural.com.br/noticias/agricultura/cana/etanol-em-crise-cana-perde-espaco-para-soja-milho-e-ateamendoim/#:~:text=Reinando%20nos%20%C3%BAltimos%20anos%20nas,soja%2C%20milho%20e%20at%C3%A9%20amendoim.&text=Assustado%20com%20o%20choque%20do. Accessed 10 Oct 2020.
Rural Channel. 2021. Rural Chanel News (Original in Portuguese, 20 Jan). https://www.canalrural.com.br/programas/soja-milho-precos-recordes-tendencia-stonex/. Accessed 23 Jan 2021.
Shahbandeh, M. 2020. Statista Prices and acess. 27 July. https://www.statista.com/statistics/254292/global-corn-production-by-country/. Accessed 17 Sept 2020.
SINDALCOOL/MT. 2020. Mato Grosso Alcoholic Union. http://www.sindalcool-mt.com.br/mostra_arquivo.php?arquivo=25. Accessed 17 Sept 2020.
Sorda, G., M. Banse, and C. Kemfert. 2010. An overview of biofules policies across the world. Energy Policy 38: 6977–6988.
Staffell Iain. 2011.The Energy and Fuel Data Sheet, University of Birmingham, UK.University of Birmingham, UK, Birmingham.
Sugar NY nº11 Futuros. 2020. (SBV0). Investing.com. https://br.investing.com/commodities/us-sugar-no11. Accessed 23 Sept 2020.
The World Bank. 2017. The World Bank, TCdata 360. Quality Of Overall Infrastructure, Value.The World Bank, 2017. https://tcdata360.worldbank.org/indicators/h2cf9f9f8?country=BRA&indicator=536&viz=line_chart&years=2007. Accessed 19 Sept 2020.
Tradingeconomics. 2021. Corn1912-2021 Data | 2022–2023 Forecast | Price | Quote | Chart | Historical | News. 19 Jan 2021. https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/corn. Accessed 22 Jan 2021.
Tyner, W.E. 2008. The S.U.S. ethanol and biofuels boom: Its origins, current status, and future prospects. BioScience 58: 646–653.
U. D. o. E. Information. 1982. Feasibility study of a corn-to-ethanol plant in Sardis, Mississippi. DOE/ID/12277 T1 Vol2.
U.S Department of Energy. 2016. Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (Combined Heat and Power Technology Fact Sheet Series). July. https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2016/09/f33/CHP-Steam%20Turbine.pdf. Accessed 16 Jan 2021.
U.S Grains Council. 2021. Peru.U.S Grains Council, 2021. https://grains.org/buying-selling/ethanol-2/ethanol-market-profiles/peru/. Accessed 29 Jan 2021.
U.S. Grains Council (b). 2021. Argentina.US Grains Council. S.U.S. Grains Council, 2021. https://grains.org/buying-selling/ethanol-2/ethanol-market-profiles/argentina/. Accessed 29 Jan 2021.
USA FACTS. 2020. 29 September. https://usafacts.org/articles/federal-farm-subsidies-what-data-says/. Accessed 01 Oct 2020.
USDA. 2020. United State Department of Agriculture. Foreing Agricultural Service. Peru: Biofuel Annual. USDA, 23 October. https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/peru-biofuels-annual-3. Accessed 29 Jan 2021.
USDA's. 2019. National Agricultural Statistics Service, 20 11. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Quick_Stats/index.phpa. Accessed 04 Oct 2020.
Veja redactor staff. 2019. Brazil should have a record beef expotation in 2019 (Brasil deve ter exportação recorde de carne bovina em 2019). VEJA 10 12.
Walter Arnaldo, Dolzan, P., Quilodrán, O., De Oliveira, J.G., Da Silva, C., Piacente, F., Segerstedt, A. 2011.Sustainability assessment of bio-ethanol production in Brazil considering land use change, GHG emissions and socio-economic aspects. Energy Policy 39:5703–5716.
Wyman, C.E. 1999. Biomass ethanol: Technical progress, opportunities, and commercial challenges. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment 24: 189–226.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alonso Pippo, W., Alves, A. Corn Ethanol in Brazil: Analyzing the Prospect of Becoming a Widespread Practice in South America. Sugar Tech 24, 857–869 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-021-01103-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-021-01103-1