Designing the Biggest Ethanol Pipeline in the World (Oil and Gas‪)‬

Guilherme Sacilotto Granato, Weber Pimenta and Leonardo Uehara look at the challenges of developing a biofuel industry in virgin country. The search for an alternative to oil and corn (maize)-based fuel starts with the second most used renewable fuel in the world: sugarcane ethanol. Brazil is the largest producer and consumer of sugarcane ethanol but, although it is considered to be a renewable form of energy, the similarities to the American alternative (corn) stop there. Sugarcane ethanol has lower production costs and improved energy efficiency, enabling it to be independent from any government action or support. This allows it to be sold in Brazil in a free trade market model in which the final consumer regulates fuel prices, keeping them close to 70% of the price of gasoline -- ethanol energy efficiency is about 30% less.