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Any red blooded male and most girls too will appreciate this when I say that I have a secret crush on the country Brasil. Now I know you’re all probably thinking I want to meet some girls from Ipanema or I want to go longlong in Rio but there’s more to Brasil than it’s inviting and open culture. (whateverrr?!!)…No seriously like for example my post last year with a YouTube Video about how they’ve turned their sugar cane fields into ethanol for vehicle consumption. I immediately thought of Fiji’s sugar cane industry and our own Ramu Sugar.
Now I don’t know what PNG is doing, but Fiji Sugar Growers are already on the ball. Just last month it was announced that they have plans to enter into an ethanol-making joint venture with the Sojitz Corporation of Japan following a competitive tender process. (Read the full story here)
Now back to my lovely Brasil…even a reporter from the New York Times remarked, “Seldom has a country seen an image makeover quite as radical as Brazil’s in recent years. From the unserious land of samba, slums, soccer and smoking rain forests, it has become the realm of ahead-of-the-curve ethanol production, flex-fuel cars running on any combination of ethanol and gasoline, and a biofuel revolution that could deliver the world from $100-a-barrel oil.
Where the world once saw Pelé and poverty, it now sees prescience: a country where 80 percent of new cars run on ethanol or gasoline, all gasoline contains close to 25 percent ethanol, and ethanol accounts for more than 40 percent of fuel consumption.
These numbers reveal new U.S. targets that might replace about one-sixth of gasoline consumption with ethanol by 2020 for what they are: belated and meager. Brazil, in other words, was busy seeing tomorrow while America viewed it as mired in the past, a place too frivolous to be futuristic.
In fact, both images hold some truth. Brazil has led the way in demonstrating the potential of ethanol, has the land to expand the industry, uses sugar-based ethanol whose yield per hectare is eight times that of U.S. corn ethanol being developed at the cost of higher food prices and has shown the feasibility of a flex-fuel auto fleet.”
Bloomberg also reported this month that, “The amount of sugar produced from the crop in the year starting May 2008 may be between 30 million tons and 31.5 million tons, compared with 30.6 million in 2007-08. Demand for ethanol in blending with gasoline to run vehicles in Brazil will rise by 2.9 billion liters this year from 16.7 billion last year as more and more people buy so-called Flexi cars…Brazil is adding more than 2 million Flexi vehicles every year and that’s going to push up local demand for ethanol. President of Brazil’s Sugar Cane Industry Association, also known as Unica, said. “Brazil is looking at the local market to grow its ethanol industry.” Even Investors including billionaire George Soros is pouring 30 billion reais ($17 billion) into Brazil to develop 80 new mills, according to Maurilio Biagi Filho, a producer whose family accounts for about 10 percent of sugar output in Brazil.”
I hope I can visit Brasil one day, but in the meantime I’m watching her every move…and maybe while we’re all the way here in the pacific we might be able to learn a thing or two from her cos she’s not just a pretty face.
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More Information:
For the technically minded here is an explanation of how Flex-Fuel works and shown here is a Flex-Fuel car from Peugeot
Peugeot has introduced flex-fuel versions of its popular 206 sedan and hatchback in Brazil. The cars run on either gasoline (already with 22% ethanol) or ethanol or any mixture of the two. 
The new vehicles, promised in November 2004 at the ceremony to launch production of the Peugeot 206 SW at the Peugeot Porto Real plant in Brazil, represent the company’s first flex-fuel efforts in the country.
The 206 Nova Geração and SW flex-fuel models both use the 1.6-liter, 16-valve engine produced at Porto Real with a Bosch Motronic Flex Fuel injection system to handle the management of the different fuels.
| Peugeot 206 Flex | Gasoline | Ethanol | Power | 80 kW (107 hp) | 82 kW (110 hp) | Torque | 144 Nm (106 lb-ft) | 154 Nm (114 lb-ft) |
|---|
The Bosch system measures the oxygen content in the exhaust fumes to determine the alcohol content in the fuel. The engine management software adjusts ignition and injection based on the actual fuel mix in the tank.
The diagram to the right illustrates the basic components of the system. A legend (Portuguese) is available here on the Bosch Brazil site.
Because the ignition properties of alcohol are inferior to gasoline when the engine is cold, the flex fuel system uses gasoline from a small 0.5 liter reserve tank for cold starts.
The Bosch system is not unique to Peugeot; the first car with Bosch flex fuel injection management as standard equipment was the VW Fox Total Flex, launched in 2003.
Peugeot is now the sixth automaker offering flex fuel cars in the country, joining Volkswagen, Fiat, Chevrolet, Ford and Renault. Peugeot will launch a Citroën C3 flex fuel model in the fall.
Peugeot has produced more than 4 million of the 206 model worldwide. The company will also begin producing the 206 in China this year, adding that country to France, Great Britain, Argentina, Brazil and Iran as production sites.
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March 4, 2008 at 5:12 am
msmel
What’s with the casava project somewhere in the central province which was suppose to produce ethanol fuel, was launched this year and a similar one to follow suit Markham? I believe it’s something along Brasil’s line of story you might wanna look that up and give us more infor. Hopefully we are not to far off and are also taking steps in making sure that we are prepared for the the changes in the fuel industry.
March 4, 2008 at 6:14 am
msmel
Hi again
Just did a bit of research the story was published on Tuesday 19-Feb-08 in the national under the business section. Hopefully this project gets thru and we see the end product. Like so many projects in the country there is a high tendency of failure but we hope against hope, that is not the case in this one.
March 4, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Emmanuel
Hey msmel, thank you so much for contributing. I heard that they were still sorting out land issues and agreements etc, but if things are moving then that is certainly great news. I’ll see what I can find out about it. But thanks again for the heads up and I’ve put it below for everyone:
US$100m ethanol plan taking shape in Central By JOSHUA ARLO 19/02/08
A US$100 million (K293.7 million) cassava bio-fuel project is now taking shape in Central province, aimed at cashing in on the growing popularity of the fuel additive ethanol – a cassava by-product – in the world market
Funded by Korean firm Changhae Tapioka (PNG), the project is now on its first phase in which the most feasible cassava variety is being determined. The company said it expects to know at the end of this year which variety out of the 10 being tested right now is well suited for the project. The most suitable cassava variety will be propagated by participating farmers nationwide.
Project developer Changhae Tapioka, a Korean-based investor, plans to develop over 20,000ha in Launakalana for its nucleus plantation which includes 100ha for the nursery site in Bore. Local farmers would be encouraged to mass-produce the variety and supply it to the company. Last Thursday, a field-day was organised at the nursery site to see the progress on the project, with heavy equipment, seedlings and nursery already on hand. Changhae Tapioka chief executive officer John Lim said he appreciated the support for the project from the surrounding villages, the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) and the provincial government. He said that through hard work, the people would be rewarded for their efforts in the next two years when the project becomes fully operational.
Mr Lim said at present, there are 55 local workers involved in the project and that he expects to increase the number as the estate expands.
The second cassava estate to be developed will be launched in New Ireland province next month, the company said. Central provincial administrator Rahael Yipmaramba told landowners and the people Rigo the project is the “beginning of their lives and that they must see it through”.
Changhae Tapioka said the international market for bio-fuel (ethanol) has since been growing rapidly and is expected to grow even further due to the increasing popularity of ethanol, a by-product of cassava, as a fuel additive to petrol. Bio-fuel is not only an alternative fuel but also environmentally-friendly and could be used in existing vehicles in controlled amount without the need for any engine modifications. Mr Lim noted that the project will give a big boost to the rural economy as it will generate income for the farmers and provide large-scale employment.
Ethanol as fuel is very popular in developing countries like the Philippines, Thailand, India and China.
March 8, 2008 at 2:50 am
Samba B’day Bash « the Masalai blog
[...] you all know that I love Brasil and some of you may know that today is my Hepi Bondei!! So what better way to treat myself then to [...]
March 13, 2008 at 3:20 pm
nimo
Emmanuel,
Ramu Sugar used to produce industrial enthanol in the 80s for blending with fuel. They stopped when there was a change in the fuel blending business for some technical reasons.
RSL (RAI) continued to produce industrial ethanol which was exported and a very small quality was sold locally in PNG. In the early to mid-90s they converted the distillery to produce portable alcohol for commercial reasons (28 US cents/l for enthanol compared to 56 US cents/l for portable alcohol).
Additionally RSL use to convert the molasses to lick blocks for cattle and the rest of the factory by products back into the field as organic supplements or is used on the roads are dust-reducers, fire suppressants, and other uses.
RAI continues to produce enthanol and/or portable alcohol depending on the quality of the molasseses.
Whilst cane by products are made into hay, use as fresh (cane tops) for cattle or ploughed back in as green manua
Having the benefit of knowing (physically visiting) RAI, Fiji and Brazilian sugarcane farming and processing operations I must say RAI is quite effecient and does maximizes its use for whole sugarcane plant (sugar, baggase, molasses, cane tops, effluent).
Enthanol vs portable alcohol and maximization of the sugar operation is purely an economic decision but knowing RAI this is done with increased consciousness for the environment.
March 13, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Emmanuel
Hi Nimo, well that’s certainly impressive news!
So what are the commercial uses of portable alcohol, and how big is that market?
I imagine that RAI’s decision to go down this path is a smarter way of selling by-products from sugar cane considering the smaller size in our sugar industry. I think that’s a great start, because we obviously don’t have the scale and refinery infrastructure as yet for ethanol, (especially if we want to produce it for cars).
On another note I’m quite pleased to see how RAI has begun to expand into different areas of agriculture. I know they’ve been diversifying for a while now but the name change has obviously brought attention to this. Good work RAI!
March 14, 2008 at 1:16 am
Nimo
Hi Emmanuel, portable alcohol is used for making distilled spirits (Ramu Rum) or the famous Jamaican Rum or the Bounty in Fiji. The grade (and the ’sweetness’
of the rum is depended on the quality of the molasseses which is in turn depended on the amount of burnt cane put through the factory (mill).
Ramu supplies (well use to but don’t know now) Fairdeal and other local liquor makers though most the alcohol is exported.
[A humorous side - when Ramu started producing portable alcohol 'muli trees' started loosing their fruits, pump started breaking down at the distillery and the fitter machinists working at the factory became overnight celebrities...LOL]