Technology

Since the second half of the 70′s, and as a result of the 1973 oil crisis, the Brazil government has been promoting ethanol as a fuel. By 1978 the first gasohol automobile was developed. The Brazilian government provided three important initial drivers for the ethanol industry: guaranteed purchases by the state-owned oil company Petrobras, low-interest [...]

Sucrose accounts for little more than 30% of the chemical energy stored in the mature plant; 35% is in the leaves and stem tips, which are left in the fields during harvest, and 35% are in the fibrous material (bagasse) left over from pressing. Part of the bagasse is currently burned at the mill to [...]