ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: The use of ethanol from biomass as a gasoline substitute in cars and light trucks is possibly one of the most attractive and feasible alternatives to deal with global warming to contribute to alleviate developing countries’ trade balance by cutting oil imports. Ethanol consumption of 13 billion liters annually helps Brazil to avoid nearly 26 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Annual world production of bio-fuel ethanol is about 26 billion liters, from which Brazil is responsible for about 60%, followed by the U.S. and China. Roughly 60% of world ethanol is produced from sugar crops, mainly sugarcane and sugar beet; the remaining comes from grain, mainly corn. The key for making ethanol competitive as a gasoline additive is the ability to produce it from low-cost biomass. Brazil has continually decreased its costs for ethanol production from sugarcane. However, more work is necessary to develop new technologies for ethanol production from biomass particularly from lignocellulosic materials.This paper aims to provide some information and perspectives about the status of fuel ethanol production and use around the world.
INTRODUCTION
