Brazil - continued Development

Human activity, particularly in the developing world, continues to make it more difficult to sustain the world s biomass growth areas. It has been estimated that tropical forests are disappearing at a rate of tens of thousands of hm per year. Satellite imaging and field surveys show that Brazil alone has a deforestation rate of approximately 8 x 10 hm /yr (5). At a mean net carbon yield for tropical rain forests of 9.90 t/hm yr (4) (4.42 short ton /acreyr), this rate of deforestation corresponds to a loss of 79.2 x 10 t/yr of net biomass carbon productivity. 

One species of Euphorbia in Brazil (Bernardia pulchelld) has been determined to contain more than 90% vemolic acid in the triglyceride [120]. This level of single-component purity is equivalent to the level of ricinoleic acid typically found in castor oil. These different varieties of epoxidized oil plants will probably continue to be the subject of agricultural development in the coming years. 

Geigy started production of simazine in 1956 in Schweizerhalle, near Basel, Switzerland 2 years later, atrazine also was produced. Use of triazines for weed control to improve crop yields grew quickly, and a production facility was installed at McIntosh, Alabama in 1959. Smaller production units were operated in Mexico, Brazil, and Australia, and important development work by Geigy led to improved production processes. In 1970 a continuous process production unit was built by Geigy Agricultural Chemicals in the United States. 

A few other comments Ethanol is listed by OSHA as a suspect but unproved carcinogen, but OSHA does not have jurisdiction over beverage alcohol, nor, since it is a natural product, does the Delaney Amendment apply. This could lead to paradoxical situations. Ethanol will continue to grow explosively in volume in the next few years as a motor fuel indeed, this has happened in Brazil. The field is extremely volatile, and new developments occur every week, particularly with respect to fermentation and gasohol. Things should be clearer in about five years, and we should remind ourselves to take a similar look at ethanol then. 

Soybean is the oilseed with the greatest production on a worldwide basis. Production of soybeans is increasing and is expected to continue to increase as demand for soybean oil for human consumption and biodiesel and demand for high-protein meal for animal feed grows in both developed and developing countries. Currently the United States is the largest producer of soybeans followed by Brazil, Argentina, and China (USDA—FAS, 2007). Table 2.1 shows the most recent data on world supply. 

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