Effects of Energy Cane (<i>Saccharum</i> spp.) Juice on Corn Ethanol (<i>Zea mays</i>) Fermentation Efficiency: Integration towards a More Sustainable Production
Pietro Sica,
Laysa Maciel Lewandowski Meira Prado,
Pedro Granja,
Elias Miguel de Carvalho,
Eduardo de Castro Mattos,
Rubens Perez Calegari,
Manuella Silverio,
Bianca Chaves Martins,
Antonio Sampaio Baptista
Affiliations
Pietro Sica
College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of Sao Paulo, Padua dias Avenue, 11, Piracicaba, SP 13418900, Brazil
Laysa Maciel Lewandowski Meira Prado
College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of Sao Paulo, Padua dias Avenue, 11, Piracicaba, SP 13418900, Brazil
Pedro Granja
College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of Sao Paulo, Padua dias Avenue, 11, Piracicaba, SP 13418900, Brazil
Elias Miguel de Carvalho
College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of Sao Paulo, Padua dias Avenue, 11, Piracicaba, SP 13418900, Brazil
Eduardo de Castro Mattos
College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of Sao Paulo, Padua dias Avenue, 11, Piracicaba, SP 13418900, Brazil
Rubens Perez Calegari
College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of Sao Paulo, Padua dias Avenue, 11, Piracicaba, SP 13418900, Brazil
Manuella Silverio
College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of Sao Paulo, Padua dias Avenue, 11, Piracicaba, SP 13418900, Brazil
Bianca Chaves Martins
College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of Sao Paulo, Padua dias Avenue, 11, Piracicaba, SP 13418900, Brazil
Antonio Sampaio Baptista
College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of Sao Paulo, Padua dias Avenue, 11, Piracicaba, SP 13418900, Brazil
Despite being considered renewable, corn (Zea mays) ethanol still generates much debate over the use of fossil fuels in its production and is considered less sustainable than sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) ethanol. In Brazil, corn ethanol is starting to be produced in the Center-West and is expected to increase with the RenovaBio, a promising policy for biofuels adoption. In this context, energy cane (Saccharum spp.) is a biomass crop with high yields that can provide bagasse to supply the energy demand of the corn ethanol industry and provide juice with about 10% sugar content. However, the effects of introducing its juice in the production process are unknown. For these reasons, the objective of this study was to assess the effects of adding energy cane juice in corn ethanol production. Energy cane juice brings several advantages: (i) It provides sugars that can reduce by almost 50% the amount of corn and enzymes used, (ii) reduces the amount of water needed for ethanol production, and (iii) increases significantly the fermentation efficiency from 86.4% to 90.8% by providing minerals that support yeast growth. Therefore, energy cane can be integrated into the corn ethanol production process, making the fermentation more efficient and the production systems more sustainable.
