Deterioração de variedades de cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum spp.) para a produção de etanol

Abstract

As a consequence of the continuous growth of population and industrialization worldwide, there has been a significant increase in transportation and energy consumption, and the diversification of the world energy matrix with economic and environmental differential is necessary. An alternative is the production of ethanol from biomass, such as sugarcane (Saccharum spp.); however, negative aspects related to production and organization can cause inefficiency to obtain biofuel. So, the objective of this work was to study the deterioration of sugarcane in the post-harvest stage and storage of the varieties RB92579 and SP91-1049 in a mill in the extreme west of the state of São Paulo, and the impact of this process for the production of ethanol. The experimental design was completely randomized in a 2x5 factorial scheme (2 sugarcane varieties and 5 time analysis: 0, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours), with 3 replicates for each analysis. The results were submitted to analysis of variance and the means were compared with ScottKnott test at 5% probability. The variables studied were influenced by the storage time for the two varieties, but the RB92579 was the one that deteriorated the most after 96 hours of the beginning of the study. The percentage in liters of theoretical absolute ethanol per tonne of sugarcane that was no longer produced was 9% for variety RB92579 and 4% for SP91-1049 less if processing occurred immediately after cutting; result of around 2,500m³ less than theoretical absolute ethanol for the crop year. Therefore, the importance of the immediate processing of sugarcane after its cutting and the need to evaluate the impact of post-harvest deterioration for all the varieties planted in the mills was evidenced.