Research on Ethanol Production from Sugarcane Wastes

Sugarcane Wastes: Producing Sustainable Energy from Residues

Principal Investigator

- Director, Dr.
  HIRATA Satoshi
  Biomass Refinery Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

ODA Recipient Country

Federative Republic of Brazil

Research Institutions in Japan

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

Research Institutions in Counterpart Country

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) / Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC)

Adoption fiscal year

FY 2008

Research Period

3 Years

Overview of the Research Project

Contribution to mitigating climate change by using existing resources effectively
There is increasing demand for bioethanol fuel produced from crops such as sugarcane and corn as an effective means for mitigating climate change without increasing the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere. However, there can be problems such as deficiency of raw materials due to competition with food and feed use, rising food prices, and deforestation due to increased cultivation area of crops. For these reasons, research and development is underway for the production of bioethanol from the bagasse that remains after the sugarcane is crushed to collect cane juice, and from wastes like straws. Bagasse and straws have rigid structures and contain components that cannot be converted into ethanol.

Construction of optimum fuel ethanol production system for the use of bagasse and straws
In addition to developing technology for breaking down the rigid raw materials with small energy input, a new yeast strain has been developed for fermentation. The goal of this project is to contribute to mitigating climate change through sustainable fuel production, and extension to other regions such as Southeast Asia is also planned.