B
Bagasse: The fibrous matter that remains after sugarcane stalks are crushed to extract their juice. Once it is burned, it is used as biofuel.
Biodiesel: It is the biofuel substitute for diesel. It derives from oilseed based crops: mainly oil-seed rape (OSR) in the UK, and palm-oil in South East Asia. It can also derives from animal oil. These oils are transformed thanks to a chemical process (using alcohol) to obtain biodiesel.
Bioethanol: It is the biofuel substitute for petrol (gasoline). It derives from cereal based crops: mainly wheat in the UK, sugar beet and maize (corn), soyabeans and sugarcane in the US, Brazil and South America. The sugars in biomass materials are being fermented to produce bioethanol.
Bioethanol can be used either in pure form or as an additive yo petroleum-based fuels. Beyond 50% of bioethanol, the vehicle’s motor has to be adapted. Brazil is the world country where the biggest amounts of biofuel are being used.
Biofuel (vs. Fossil fuel): It refers to the fuels produced by organic materials (called biomass) including predominantly crops, but also animal waste, wood, algaes or some forms of ‘rubish’. There are two fields in biofuels: the ones made with oil and its derivatives like biodiesel; and the ones made with alcohol (from sugar, starch or cellulose) like bioethanol. There’s also a third field, less developed which is the one of gaseous fuels.
Biofuel differs from fossil fuel since it uses renewable materials. In this sense, biofuels are generally classed as carbon neutral fuels.
Biogas: It is the biofuel substitute for natural gas. It derives from organic waste materials including animal waste and waste generated from municipal, commercial and industrial sources through the process of anaerobic digestion.
C
Carbon footprint: The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)
Cerrado: Vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, particularly in the states of Goias and Minas Gerais. The second largest of Brazil’s major habitat types after Amazon, Cerrado accounts for 21% of the country’s land area. Currently, the Cerrado accounts for 70% of Brazil’s farm output.
Chlorine: Halogen element, heavy, incombustible, yellowish, water-soluble, poisonous gas, irritating the respiratory organs
E
Erosion: The land surface by physical forces that abrade, detach and remove soil or geological material from one point on the earth’s surface to be deposited elsewhere. Whilst this process can be natural, frequently its a result of over exertion by the agricultural process that degrades the soil exponentially.
F
First generation biofuels (vs. second and third generation): In the first generation biofuels, the biomass used is derived from raw materials that can be used in food production. It is the case of bioethanol and biodiesel.
However, with growing concerns about the lack of land to produce enough food and biofuel, further developments in biofuel technologies have been made, such as second and third generations biofuels. The third generation is not accessible yet, it is still a prototype in laboratories. It is based on algae (Chlamydomonas): scientists have created a genetically engineered microbe that turns the algae into low-carbon biofuel. This third generation is also called algaefuels.
L
Land conversion: If we take the Brazilian case, sugarcane agriculture is extensive. Brazil is the first sugarcane producer in the world. It represents 9% of its farming surfaces (8,8 millions hectares). To produce more sugarcane, lands are being converted, such as forests, pasturage or croplands.
N
Nitrogen: Colorless, odorless, gaseous element that constitutes about four-fifth of the volume of the atmosphere, used chiefly in the manufacture of fertilizers (among other things)
Nitrogen protoxide: also known as nitrogen monoxide, is a binary molecule with chemical formula NO. It is a free radical and is an important intermediate in the chemical industry. Nitric oxide is a by-product of combustion of substances in the air, as in automobile engines, fossil fuel power plants, and is produced naturally during the electrical discharges of lightning in thunderstorms.
S
Sao Paulo Region: Region in South West Brazil that produces 60% of all sugarcane bioethanol