The two main biofuels in Brazil are biodiesel and ethanol. Biodiesel can be produced from oilseeds (among them castor beans, cotton, peanuts, palm oil, sunflower and soy), in addition to alternative raw materials (such as animal fat, frying oils and fats residuals). Ethanol, on the other hand, is produced from sugarcane, but research has been carried out so that corn can also be used as a raw material for its production.
The greatest experience with the biodiesel, in Brazil, was in the state of Piauí, in the Northeast region, through the cultivation of castor bean. In the municipality of Canto do Buriti, the largest biodiesel production plant is installed: the Floriano Plant. It has the capacity to produce seven million liters per year. However, castor bean did not adapt very well to the region, due to its edaphoclimatic conditions. Thus, the main raw material for biodiesel is soy, which comes from the Midwest region.
The country adopted a gradual policy of adding biodiesel to regular diesel, as a means of inserting the product into the market, pursuant to Law 11.097/2005. Thus, a mandatory increase of 2% from biodiesel to diesel from 2005 to 2012 was established; and 5% from 2013.
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already the ethanol it became a reality in Brazil, starting in 1970, when the program called Proálcool began. In the midst of the global oil crisis, ethanol was the economic alternative found as a fuel. Proálcool was the main incentive program for the production of ethanol in the country.
Currently, the country produces approximately ten billion liters per year. The production of sugarcane in the country has grown a lot and the installation of sugar and alcohol plants has taken a huge quantitative leap. The states that produce the most sugarcane in the country are, respectively, São Paulo, Paraná, Minas Gerais, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. There are approximately 400 plants installed in the country.
It is important to point out that in the last ten years the number of “flex” cars manufactured in the country went from zero to almost three million. Today, they represent just over 90% cars manufactured in the country.
By Regis Rodrigues
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
ALMEIDA, Regis Rodrigues de. "Biofuels in Brazil"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/biocombustiveis-no-brasil.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.