Conference article

Brazil is one of the major alcohol and sugar producers in the world. The plants of alcohol and sugar cane have as waste the vinasse; which is used as organic fertilizer in the cane plantations and it cause contamination of the soil and water. The anaerobic digestion treatment can be used to reduce the pollution with vinasse; and at the same time increase the production of biogas. In this study; is proposed to find the potential of biogas production from anaerobic digestion of vinasse in Brazil and the availability of its use in urban buses as gas fuel. Biogas can be important to reduce the dependence of diesel; a non renewable fuel; in Brazil. Theoretical data of vinasse and biogas production; 14;6 m³ of biogas per 1 m³ of vinasse; were used to estimate the biogas potential. Using an estimated consumption of biogas in buses; 295;5 m³ per bus with 400 km of autonomy per day; the total of buses supplied with biogas was estimated. The potential of biogas production estimated in Brazil by vinasse (2008/2009) is 4016892452 m³.crop^-1 or approximately 20 million per day; which could replace 64;7% of the urban buses fleet in Brazil. A big plant of alcohol production has autonomy to supply 1018 buses per day. It has been assumed in this study the plant will produce biogas only during 200 days per year; in the others 165 days the buses could running with compressed natural gas (CNG) or the digesters can be fed on of bagasse’s sugar cane as wet feedstock.

Bioenergy; fuel; vinasse; waste