Sustainable products

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Before the law that prohibited the burning of sugarcane, fires released approximately (64.8) million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, which contributes to the decrease in air quality and the increase in the greenhouse effect.

In Brazil, with the ban on husking sugarcane (January 2018), mechanized harvesting of raw sugarcane is observed, where straw provides better industrial quality of sugarcane, greater protection of the soil against erosion, better retention of soil moisture, greater microbial activity in the soil and its enrichment in organic matter and weed control, with and suspension of the burning operation, have a lower environmental impact.

But even so, many still curse mill owners when there are fires in dry periods, but as it is in this book, it is proven that fires harm mill owners, so it would not make sense to burn it, as there are fires even in small canes that would not be ready for milling.

Thus, with the end of legalized burning, in the end, everyone gained, the population in general and the mills.

Sugarcane is known for its peculiar characteristics,

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being a thin plant with a cylindrical shape, large leaves and can reach up to six meters in height.

The mills that work with sugarcane take advantage of everything from the plant, and you will find out more by reading this book.

Brazil is the largest sugarcane producer and ranks first in the sugar production ranking and is the largest ethanol exporter in the world. The possibilities are huge to create sustainable products based on the bioeconomy and circular economy with sugarcane.

Several companies have been doing their part to make even more use of sugarcane, an example of this is Ella Bulley, a materials explorer and multidisciplinary designer trained at the Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design, which is headquartered in London . She has united sugarcane with traditional crafts and production techniques with an approach innovative and stunning. With her instigating Saccharum project, she transforms sugarcane into a marble-like material, in bowls, vases and various dishes, and also created a beautiful corrugated fabric made from sugarcane cellulose, which

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encouraged the group to develop eco-packaging.

The process of transforming the raw material into boxes is carried out as follows: first, the sugarcane bagasse undergoes drying in ovens to be later sieved. After removing the smaller particles, the bagasse is crushed. To this material, a castor oil-based resin is added. The resin agglomerates the particles and forms a mixture that, when placed in molds, allows the production of panels. From the cane bagasse panels, packaging for the transport of food and beverages is made.

The synthetic fabric called Ingeo, created by the company Nature Works, is made using dextrose and sucrose found in sugarcane. Using biotechnology, Ingeo was developed in partnership with to Cargill and Dow Chemical. The raw materials are made by fermenting sugar extracted from sugar cane and then converted into fiber to create tissue. When a garment made from 100% Ingeo ends up in a landfill, the garment will decompose in 60 to 90 days.

There is also the company “Nature Works” which launched the Ingeo 3D850 PLA filament for 3D printing,

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which offers heat and impact resistance rivaling ABS. PLA (polylactic acid) is a biodegradable polymer made from sugarcane, which has gained popularity in the 3D printing industry as it is biodegradable.

Sugarcane fiber isn't used much in textiles, but in the denim world, it's impossible to ignore what Japanese company Toyo Industries has been doing for years in its Sugar Cane & Co brand. The premium jeans brand produces its collections of pants, jackets, shirts and other products with 50% sugarcane fibers and 50% cotton fibers. At two fibers are joined to weave the denim on a hand loom that had its design inspired by the old looms Japanese crafts from 50 to 100 years old. It is also possible to combine sugarcane residues, such as bagasse and straw, with derivatives of shrimp and lobster shells for the manufacture of materials with high added value. Incorporating drugs and enzymes for medical applications such as dressings for wounds and pressure ulcers. I work in a mill and when I had little scratches due to my carelessness, I placed the bagasse on top of the wound,

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and there was an improvement. from the plant, thus proving that it is even possible to clean dirt from grease, which is normally removed only with the use of other products. The idea of using the same cellulose to obtain textile fibers for applications in the medical field, which had healing and bactericidal properties. Another way to use products made from sugarcane is what was discovered by the Italian manufacturer of mannequins Bonaveri, who launched the world's first biodegradable mannequin called BNATURAL made from Bplast, a PLA biopolymer containing 72% sugarcane, and BPaint, a range of colors produced 100% from plantbased oils and resins natural, orange peel solvents, and desiccant and naphtha free cobalt salts. Bonaveri partnered with Politecnico di Milano to overcome the challenge of creating the first mannequin made of natural and biodegradable materials that was environmentally conscious and aesthetically flawless. The survey has been carried out since 2012. In Lençóis Paulista, in the interior of São Paulo, the

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company FibraResist was the first in the world to transform sugarcane straw into paper. The company innovated by looking for wood pulp substitutes using a very Brazilian material: cellulosic pulp, extracted from sugarcane straw. It was six years in trying to produce the material. The concern for the environment starts right from the farm. In plantations, sugarcane is not fully harvested. About 20% of it remains in the soil for nutrient replenishment. The rest goes to an innovative manufacturing process, which initially consists of cleaning and crushing the straw. Next, a biodispersant is added to separate the lignin (natural glue from the straw). After a last hydration, the material is transformed into cellulosic pulp. This cycle was fully developed by the company and based on a system that avoids wasting water, the production of residues and air pollution. The green polyethylene I’m greenTM is the result of the combination innovation, technology and sustainability. After a few years dedicated to research and development, Braskem's green ethylene plant,

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inaugurated in September 2010, marked the beginning of the production of green polyethylene on an industrial and commercial scale, making the company world leader in the biopolymers market. The company Tetra Pak, the world leader in carton packaging for food, has entered into an agreement with Braskem for the supply of low-cost polyethylene density (LDPE) I’m greenTM made from sugarcane, to compose the protective layers of your packaging as well as the lid. Since 2014, Tetra Park has been using green plastic as a component of its packaging layers produced in Brazil. The switch to green polyethylene means that 100% of Tetra Pak packaging produced in Brazil, around 13 billion, are made up of around 82% of materials from renewable sources. Coca-Cola has also done its part, launched a pioneering bottle made of 100% plastic from sugarcane. In other words, petroleum-derived plastic was left behind. The packaging of the "PlantBottle" according to the company, looks like the traditional ones. The recycling system is also the same, but plastic made from sugarcane and not

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oil has a much smaller “environmental footprint”. The company's goal is to exclusively produce and use PlantBottles by 2020. PlantBottle's polyethylene made from sugarcane ethanol was developed by Braskem and is now being recycled in new materials for Ford Fusion Energi cars. The automaker Ford is taking advantage of Coca-Cola bottle technology to use inside its vehicles. The plastic fibers from PlasticBottle bottles were transformed into seat backs, seats, head rests, panel details.