Developing bio-fuel from sugarcane: Brazil keen to provide technical assistance: Envoy

The government of Brazil has shown interest to provide technical assistance to Pakistan in developing bio-fuel from sugarcane so that dependency on gasoline should be reduced.
Ambassador of Brazil to Pakistan Alferdo Leoni in an exclusive talk with Business Recorder said that if the government of Pakistan would put a request before Brazil, they would be willing to cooperate in developing ethanol from indigenous products.
He said that being an agriculture country, Pakistan has a lot of potential to generate power following the model of Brazil where use of E100 has been introduced in all vehicles. "It is environment-friendly fuel, and the myth is incorrect that it may damage the car engines", he explained. A study carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Production has given some interesting figures about the potential of generating bio-fuel from sugarcane.
According to the study, sugar industry in Pakistan is the second largest after textile. Currently, 76 sugar mills produce at or below capacity. From a production level of 2.89 million tons in 1991-92, production reached 4 million tons in 2003-04. Yet the production potential is not realised because sugarcane yield remains well below the global average.
It further states that the emerging markets in industrial alcohol and fuel ethanol offer prospects of making sugarcane production economically viable. About 80-85 percent of the total sugarcane production goes to the production of sugar. The remaining 15-20 percent is converted into gur. Cane crushing produces sugar, and molasses as a by-product. The molasses-to-bio-ethanol conversion process is conducted in distilleries. Currently, 21 distilleries produce industrial alcohol in the country.
Industrial alcohol can be converted into fuel alcohol in a simple process by using molecular sieve technology, which requires a capital expenditure of about $1.5 million and can be completed in 5 to 6 months. As many as 8 distilleries have installed the sieve technology to process industrial ethanol into fuel ethanol.
An expert, Shaheen Rafi Khan, in his review on Biofuel Prospects in Pakistan stated that Pakistan is second largest exporter of industrial ethanol to European countries. This potential may be utilised in generating bio-fuel in Pakistan, which is more profitable. Commenting that E10 is not popular in Pakistan, the Brazilian Ambassador said it would take time to change public opinion. He said it took almost 40 years for his county to introduce renewable energy. Now, renewable energy represents 46 percent of Brazil''s total annual energy supply, he added.
In addition, he said, 90 percent of Brazil''s electricity comes from renewable sources, predominantly hydroelectricity. Due in part to its ethanol program, he said, Brazil became net energy independent in 2006 after many years of energy dependence. Brazil''s accomplishments in renewable energy and energy independence are nevertheless impressive.
During the 1970s, Brazil was importing over 80 percent of the oil it consumed. Large oil imports and high oil prices were damaging Brazil''s economy. In 1975, Brazil implemented the National Alcohol Program. Brazil aggressively developed cars that operated only on 100 percent ethanol. Flex-fuel vehicles were introduced in 2003.
These vehicles can run on 100 percent ethanol, 25/75 percent ethanol/gasoline blend (the 25 percent minimum ethanol mandate) or any combination of the two. Today, more than 70 percent of new cars sold in Brazil are flex-fuel. Brazilian sugarcane production reached 423 million tons in 2005/06. This represented 31 percent of the world sugarcane production. Sugarcane production is divided equally between sugar production and ethanol production, he said.