A World of
Potential
M
EVENT
Experts at the 4th World Biofuels Symposium offered their impressions of the global potential for ethanol, biodiesel and beyond. By Travis Hochard
ore than 200 people attended the 4th World Biofuels Symposium held Oct. 19-21 in Beijing. The symposium, which was organized by BBI International and Tsinghua University, featured 48 speakers from biofuel associations, technology companies and research institutions from countries around the world including Brazil, China, Scotland, Thailand, Italy, Republic of Ghana, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States. The common thread throughout the conference was that sustainability must be a top priority in the expansion of biofuels worldwide. While many speakers found this path to be in second-generation ethanol and other advanced biofuels, Marcos Jank, president and chief executive officer of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) said that he considers Brazilian ethanol from sugarcane a sustainable biofuel based on the greenhouse gas emissions reductions achieved and low percentage of arable land used. Jank said in Brazil, the equivalent of 25.8 million tons of carbon dioxide was avoided in 2007, thanks to the use of ethanol. He also said that food versus fuel is not an issue for the country. “Sugarcane for ethanol accounts for only 1 percent of the arable land in Brazil, reducing our gasoline consumption by 50 percent,” Jank said. “This is in a country where gasoline is considered the alternative fuel.” Brazil produced 23 billion liters (6.08 billion gallons) of ethanol in 2007, and the domestic sales of E100 were 1 billion liters (264 million gallons), according to Jank. “This demand is driven by consumer choice—90 percent of new cars sold in Brazil are flex fuel—representing more than 25 percent of the fleet,” Jank said, adding that another driver of Brazil’s success is the mandatory blending of 20 percent to 25 percent of ethanol into gasoline. Projections for Brazilian ethanol from sugarcane show tremendous potential with 47 billion liters (12.42 billion gallons) by 2016 and 65 billion liters (17.17 billion gallons) by 2021. Most of this expanded production would be exported—an unpredictable market for Brazil. This is why Jank is in favor of making ethanol a globally traded energy commodity by lifting all tariff and nontariff barriers. “Sugarcane is the most competitive raw material for the production of ethanol—competitive with any gasoline obtained from a U.S. $70 barrel of crude—and has very positive energy and environmental balances,” Jank said, adding that Brazil does not intend to supply ethanol for the rest of the world. “We are part of the solution, not the solution,” he said. While Brazil is a net exporter of ethanol, China will have to look to next-generation technologies for ethanol and other biofuels to become a significant part of its fuel supply, according to information provided by Xiaohui Wang, director and senior
1|2009 BIOMASS MAGAZINE 45