Thread: Brazil opens world's first ethanol-fueled power plant

Jan 19, 2010

Brazil opens world's first ethanol-fueled power plant

06:27 PM

The announcement came today from state-run energy giant Petrobas and General Electric, which helped upgrade the 87- megawatt plant that can switch instantly between natural gas and ethanol.

A GE executive said ethanol reduced carbon dioxide emissions without reducing energy output.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... er-plant/1

But they don't tell you that it costs more to produce a gallon of ethinol than it does to produce regular petroleum products. So to switch from NG to Ethinol will cost more to operate the plant, than if it was run strictly on NG, reguardless of pollution that is created.

Comparison with the United States

Brazil's sugar cane-based industry is more efficient than the U.S. corn-based industry. Sugar cane ethanol has an energy balance seven times greater than ethanol produced from corn.[4] Brazilian distillers are able to produce ethanol for 22 cents per liter, compared with the 30 cents per liter for corn-based ethanol.

U.S. corn-derived ethanol costs 30% more because the corn starch must first be converted to sugar before being distilled into alcohol. Despite this cost differential in production, the U.S. does not import more Brazilian ethanol because of U.S. trade barriers corresponding to a tariff of 54-cent per gallon, first imposed in 1980, but kept to offset the 45-cent per gallon blender's federal tax credit that is applied to ethanol no matter its country of origin.

Sugarcane cultivation requires a tropical or subtropical climate, with a minimum of 600 mm (24 in) of annual rainfall. Sugarcane is one of the most efficient photosynthesizers in the plant kingdom, able to convert up to 2% of incident solar energy into biomass. Sugarcane production in the United States occurs in Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, and Texas. The first three plants to produce sugarcane-based ethanol are expected to go online in Louisiana by mid 2009. Sugar mill plants in Lacassine, St. James and Bunkie were converted to sugar cane-based ethanol production using Colombian technology in order to make possible a profitable ethanol production. These three plants will produce 100 million gallons of ethanol within five years. By 2009 two other sugarcane ethanol production projects are being developed in Kauai, Hawaii and Imperial Valley, California.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel_in_Brazil

Yes they are using sugar. I forgot, sorry JD2. I'm just so used to our overpriced government subsidised corn based crap that it slipped my mind.

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Apr 27, 2009 ... Sugarcane ethanol passed a critical test late last week as the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved its long-awaited Low Carbon ...
www.renewableenergyworld.com/.../sugarc ... california - Cached - Similar


Imperial County is bull's-eye for potential California ethanol boom
Sep 10, 2007 ... California Ethanol & Power, LLC (CE&P), Brawley, Calif., plans to develop, finance, build, and operate five sugarcane-to-ethanol plants in ...
http://westernfarmpress.com/news/091007 ... a-ethanol/ - Cached

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