Biofuel production bioethanol

Biofuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol are, for now, the main alternatives to fossil fuels for the most polluting activities related to transportation. Presently, feedstocks for biofuels production are all of natural origin and as such are subject to uncontrolled seasonal variations. For economic reasons the purchase of these feedstocks from different parts of the world follows the dynamics of commodities markets. ... 

The annual biofuel production was about 40 billion 1 in 2006, 90 % of which was bioethanol, the rest in the form biodiesel. Some properties of these alternative fuels are described in the next paragraphs. 

The most commonly produced biofuel is bioethanol, which is ethanol (C2H5OH) made from fermentation of plant carbohydrates. The fuel value of ethanol is about two-thirds that of gasoline and is therefore comparable to that of coal (Table 5.5). The United States and Brazil dominate bioethanol production, together supplying 85% of the world s totaL... 

The increasing energy demands have directed the attention to renewable resources for the fabrication of biofuels. The exploitation of feedstocks containing polysaccharides other than cellulose is of interest for biofuel production. The aspects of the production of biofuels, including biodiesel, bioethanol, methane, and hydrogen are subject of a detailed monograph (1)... 

There are several markets for cereals, including milling for human consumption, animal feed, malting, seed, export and industrial uses including production of biofuel and bioethanol (Table 13.1). Grain quality requirements will be affected by the proposed market... 

Currently, in the first generation of bioethanol, food crops such as com, sugar cane, and wheat are used for the production of energy. These are starch- or sucrose-rich feedstocks that are readily fermented by microorganisms. However, these crops are also used for food and feed production, resulting in competition. At present, commercial production of the first-generation biomass utilizes readily-available sugars from these food plants for the fermentation process of biofuel production. 

Canada presented a bioethanol capacity of 1800 million liters in 2014, with 15 operative refineries operating at 95%, under production incentives administrated by the Federal Department of Natural Resources. Canadian bioethanol industry, based on com and wheat, produced 1.1 MMT of DDGs, 6.5 MMT of WDG (wet dry grains), and 6000 metric tons of com oil that could be valorized for second-generation biofuel production. This fact represents a major concern for older small factories, with weak co-product production lines, that need to compete with low-cost US ethanol. As an example, the 25-million-liter-capacity wheat-based plant settled in Saskatchewan (from the American company Bioenergy Crop) shut down in 2015 with low possibilities of reopening (Dessureault, 2015). 

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