Bangkok--4 Sep--Siemens
Specially adapted turbines from Siemens are helping to increase the efficiency of bioethanol production in Brazil. The higher efficiency is achieved by extracting energy from the biomass left over from the process. In Brazil bioethanol is made from sugarcane specially cultivated for this purpose; so unlike the use of corn, for example, this process doesn't directly affect a crop that can also be used as food. In the past the leftover sugarcane fiber - known as bagasse - was either burned or processed by the pulp industry. Today, however, many ethanol refineries use the bagasse in small-scale biomass power plants to generate power for their production processes. As a result, the absolute energy yield per refinery in Brazil has increased tenfold since 1999.
Brazil is one of the world's biggest producers of bioethanol for use as fuel. The bioethanol costs less than gasoline, which is why around half the cars in Brazil are equipped with "flex-fuel" engines that run on a mixture of ethanol and gas. As the Brazilian physicist and energy expert Jos? Goldemberg has shown, production and use of bioethanol leaves a relatively small carbon footprint, despite the costs of seed, fertilizer, transport, and distillation. In fact, bioethanol made from sugarcane reduces CO2 emissions by around 90 percent compared to the use of fossil fuels. The carbon footprint of other feedstock plants, such as corn, is much less favorable. What's more, use of these plants has been the focus of criticism because their cultivation competes for land otherwise reserved for growing food crops. In Europe production of bioethanol is four times more costly than in Brazil, where the climate is much more conducive. By 2020, Goldemberg estimates, ethanol made from sugarcane could well replace ten percent of the gasoline consumed worldwide. He sees the biggest market potential in India or Colombia.
Biomass power plants, which use bagasse to generate electricity or steam, help to boost the efficiency of ethanol plants and reduce their carbon footprints. This is why many ethanol refineries in Brazil operate such plants, which generally have an output of between 25 and 70 megawatts. The high capital costs involved present a major hurdle for operators, however. In response, Siemens has now adapted its SST-300 steam pressure turbine, which has already proven itself in Europe, to the special requirements of the Brazilian market. Working in cooperation, Brazilian and German engineers have modified the turbine so that it can be entirely manufactured in Brazil using local materials. This has reduced the cost of the unit by a total of 30 percent. The use of biomass power plants is helping Brazilian producers to strengthen their competitive position.
For more information, please contact
Jetsadanee Iamsupatsawat, Communications Dept, Siemens Ltd. Thailand, tel. 0-2715-4045 ,
e-mail : [email protected]