Brazil's renewable engine
Microbial (yeast) fermentation of sugars, distillation and dehydration are the fundamental processes in the large-scale synthesis of ethanol. Certain crops require saccharification — the breakdown of carbohydrates like starch and cellulose into fermentable sugars — before fermentation; enzymes convert starch into sugar, and cellulolysis saccharifies cellulose. Sugarcane needs none of that head start: its juice ferments directly, which is why cane ethanol leads the world on energy balance.
Bioethanol is a renewable energy source made from agricultural feedstocks — sugar cane above all, but also corn, potatoes and manioc. Debate around bioethanol centers on the energy and pollution balance of production, particularly from maize, and on land use; sugarcane ethanol answers both better than any competing feedstock, and advances in cellulosic ethanol — using the cellulose fibers present in all plant cell walls — promise to widen that lead further.
The market, in numbers
Brazil and the United States are the world's dominant ethanol producers — together they accounted for 87.1% of the world's ethanol fuel in 2011. Most American cars run on blends of up to 10% ethanol (E10), and ethanol made up 10% of the US gasoline supply that year. Brazil has gone much further: the government has mandated ethanol blending since 1976, with the allowed blend around 25% ethanol to 75% gasoline (E25). As of December 2011, Brazil's flex-fuel fleet included 14.8 million cars and light trucks plus 1.5 million flex-fuel motorcycles able to run on pure hydrous ethanol — E100.
Commercial overview
| Product | Sugarcane bioethanol |
| Origin | Brazil |
| Process | Yeast fermentation → distillation → dehydration |
| Applications | Fuel blending (E25) · flex-fuel (E100) · industrial |
| Supply | Bulk volumes, specification on request |
| Documentation | Full analysis certificate with every lot |
Detailed fuel-grade or industrial-grade specifications provided at enquiry, per destination-market regulations.
Enquire about ethanol
Volumes, grades and shipping programs are arranged through the same enquiry channel as our sugar business: tell us your specification, quantity and destination, and our export desk responds with an offer.
