Sustainable valorization of sugar industry waste: Status, opportunities, and challenges

Munagala, Meghana; Shastri, Yogendra

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2020.122929

Cited by 137 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 115 publications

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“…Ethanol is a viable option that can decrease greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85% by replacing fossil fuels (Börjesson 2009). It can also facilitate the use of biowaste as a secondary energy source (Meghana and Shastri 2020;Silalertruksa and Gheewala 2020). However, the transition to renewable energy requires many innovations and various technologies to compete with fossil fuel technologies (Neto and Gallo 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Brazil is responsible for about 41% of world's sugarcane production (Silalertruksa and Gheewala 2020;Meghana and Shastri 2020). This facilitates the production of ethanol and energy from the lignocellulose biomass from sugarcane (Meghana and Shastri 2020). This is an attractive alternative that can reduce dependence on fossil fuels (Galanopoulos et al 2020;Giuliano et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Barriers to the adoption of the circular economy in the Brazilian sugarcane ethanol sector

Jesus

Jugend

Paes

et al. 2021

Clean Techn Environ Policy

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Brazil plays a prominent role in the global production of sugarcane and contributes to the renewable energy sector by producing ethanol. However, few studies have explored the adoption of the circular economy in the sugarcane ethanol sector. This article is aimed at analyzing and prioritizing barriers to the adoption of the circular economy in leading Brazilian sugarcane ethanol companies. For this, the analytical hierarchy process method and case studies methods were used. The main barriers identi ed were economic and nancial, mainly due to dependence on high investments in production process technologies and the resulting uncertainties about returns. Another barrier was the lack of Brazilian legislation concerning the circular economy. We discuss the implications of our ndings and present mechanisms for overcoming barriers and the role in supporting circular economy adoption in emerging economies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to the adoption of the circular economy in the Brazilian sugarcane ethanol sector

Jesus

Jugend

Paes

et al. 2021

Clean Techn Environ Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Traditionally, the main objective of the cultivation of sugarcane is the production of sugar, and it currently meets 80% of the global demand for sugar. This production process generates large quantities of solid residues, such as mineral and vegetable impurities, bagasse, filter cakes, and vinasse that are generated after harvest (Meghana and Shastri 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental, field and impurity factors to increase the agricultural performance of Brazilian and Australian sugarcane mills

Carlucci

Lemos

Salgado

et al. 2021

Clean Techn Environ Policy

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Graphic abstract This study aims to identify explanatory factors to increase the agricultural performance of Brazilian and Australian sugarcane mills. The relevance of Brazil and Australia for the sugar industry motivated the development this study based on the most important factors in both countries responsible for increasing the efficiency in sugarcane production. Thus, this study is designed to assess the hypothesis that there are a few explanatory variables that are deeply responsible for the agricultural efficiency in the sugar-energy sector. As a specific objective, it proposes a DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) model that seeks to optimize the production of Total Recoverable Sugar (TRS) by planted area, and simultaneously, minimizes mineral and vegetable impurities. The sample consists of 82 observations from 32 sugarcane mills. An agricultural efficiency study was performed using the two-stage DEA, in which the evaluated mills according to the level of efficiency in the proposed model. Then, a Multiple Linear Regression Analysis was performed to identify the variables with the greatest influence on the performance of the mills in terms of efficiency. The results revealed six relevant variables for increasing the agricultural performance in the production of sugarcane: rainfall (mm weekly), chopped cane delivery (%), delivery time (h), borer (%), air humidity (%), and rods in raw wine (× 10 5 /mL). Finally, semi-structured interviews with Brazilian and Australian experts in the sugar-energy sector allowed the identification of five other relevant complementary factors that were unavailable in the database: genetic variety, agricultural cultivation activities, edaphoclimatic factors, renewal of sugarcane fields and irrigation system. The results of this study were grouped into the dimensions of environment, yield, and impurities, providing quantification and better understanding of the identified explanatory factors and the agricultural performance in terms of production efficiency, offering fundamental information that enables managers to make decisions and prioritize the aspects that contribute more significantly to the increase in agricultural productivity of the planted area.

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“…However, the design and implementation of such complex system is very challenging and several downstream technologies (e.g., separation of fermentation products, CO 2 capture units) should be improved for a successful deployment of integrated biorefineries in the future. The techno-economic feasibility assessment of these technologies was beyond the scope of this article, and it is partially reviewed elsewhere (Mandegari et al, 2017;Meghana and Shastri, 2020). Nevertheless, the mitigation of environmental impacts, especially the reduction of GHG emissions should also be taken into account when considering economic feasibility.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Sugar and Ethanol Production: Value Generation Opportunities Through Sugarcane Residues

et al. 2020

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Sugarcane is the most produced agricultural commodity in tropical and subtropical regions, where it is primarily used for the production of sugar and ethanol. The latter is mostly used to produce alcoholic beverages as well as low carbon biofuel. Despite well-established production chains, their respective residues and by-products present unexploited potentials for further product portfolio diversification. These fully or partially untapped product streams are a) sugarcane trash or straw that usually remain on the fields after mechanized harvest, b) ashes derived from bagasse combustion in cogeneration plants, c) filter cake from clarification of the sugarcane juice, d) vinasse which is the liquid residue after distillation of ethanol, and e) biogenic CO2 emitted during bagasse combustion and ethanol fermentation. The development of innovative cascading processes using these residual biomass fractions could significantly reduce final disposal costs, improve the energy output, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and extend the product portfolio of sugarcane mills. This study reviews not only the state-of-the-art sugarcane biorefinery concepts, but also proposes innovative ways for further valorizing residual biomass. This study is therefore structured in four main areas, namely: i) Cascading use of organic residues for carboxylates, bioplastic, and bio-fertilizer production, ii) recovery of unexploited organic residues via anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, iii) valorization of biogenic CO2 sources, and iv) recovery of silicon from bagasse ashes.

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Sustainable valorization of sugar industry waste: Status, opportunities, and challenges

Cited by 137 publications

References 115 publications

Barriers to the adoption of the circular economy in the Brazilian sugarcane ethanol sector

Barriers to the adoption of the circular economy in the Brazilian sugarcane ethanol sector

Environmental, field and impurity factors to increase the agricultural performance of Brazilian and Australian sugarcane mills

Beyond Sugar and Ethanol Production: Value Generation Opportunities Through Sugarcane Residues

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