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Advances in Agricultural Research

ISSN: 0188-7890
revaia@ucol.mx
University of Colima
Mexico

Aguilar-Rivera, N.
bioethanol from sugarcane

Advances in Agricultural Research, vol. 11, no. 3, September-December, 2007, pp. 25-39 University of Colima

Colima, Mexico

Available at: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=83711303

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bioethanol from sugarcane

Bioethanol from sugarcane

Aguilar-Rivera, N.*

Universidad Veracruzana, Faculty of Biological and Agricultural Sciences, km 1,

highway Peñuela-Amatlán de los Reyes S/N, Córdoba, Veracruz, Tel/Fax: 01
271 71 6 73 92.
*Correspondence: naguilar@uv.mx
review study

Summary Abstract

The search for the viability and development
of the sugarcane agro-industry is already an
imperative policy. The production of cane and
sugar constitute the main agro-industry in the
country, with a presence in 57 sugar mills,
located in 15 states of the republic. However,
current productive inefficiency, high costs, and
other causes —such as the entry of lower-cost
high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)— have displaced
domestic consumption of cane sugar, mainly in
bottled beverages. All these factors have
contributed to the current and protracted crisis
in the sugar sector. Therefore, the industry must
restructure and reduce sugar production towards
competitiveness, with the alternative of fuel
ethanol in the search for a future for the sugar
industry in Mexico. With the large-scale
production of ethanol (EtOH) by sugar mills, it is
possible to visualize a new and future market for
the use of renewable energy in Mexico,
opportunities for export, and increased
environmental and economic benefits through
of its use. The flexibility of the combined
production of sugar and ethanol in the mills will
allow the achievement of environmental schemes
and objectives as a nation. For the sugar industry,
its greatest
The viability of the Mexican sugar industry
is a political imperative. Sugar is Mexico's largest
agricultural industry. Sugar cane is the first lar
gest cultivated crop, supplying raw material to
over 57 mills located in 15 states. The current
inefficiency of the Mexican industry and the
advent of increased production, displacing
domestic sugar used in soft drinks; and the
government issued a large number of import
permits thus allowing large quantities of lower
price world sugar like HFCS to enter the domestic
market. All together these factors contributed to
the crisis of the sector. The industry should be
restructured and downsized to be competitive
producing ethanol (EtOH), like the easiest ways
to increase the predominant alternate fuel and
the opportunity to make the Mexican su gar cane
future a reality. If the ethanol (EtOH) is produced,
it's possible to see a growing role for renewables
in the Mexican's energy future, the sugar factories
must involve them as partners in the continued
expansion of ethanol production and use in
Mexico, export opportunities, increase public
awareness of ethanol's benefits and create an
economic climate for ethanol's expanded use.
The flexibility of production of sugar and ethanol
at the factories will allow a role for ethanol to be used to achieve the nation's cle

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Bioethanol from sugarcane...

The challenge, in this sense, represents reducing Most important opportunity for sugar cane
the current costs of ethanol production through industry is to continue to reduce ethanol
the use of genetic engineering, the use of production costs through genetic engineering,
different raw materials and the entire sugarcane feedstock diver sity using whole sugar cane and
plant and introducing technological improvements. technology improvements.

Keywords Keywords
Sugar industry, biofuels, biomass. Sugar Industry, biofuels, biomass.

Introduction

tion and production of the deposits of Pennsylvania, United States, ini

In the second halfthat
initiatives of the
were19th
latercentury theinoil
imitated era countries,
other began, with the explora
which used the pe
trolley for lighting and heating; and, although during the era of cheap oil this
raw material was irreplaceable, after the energy crises of the 1970s an attempt
was made to save fuel, through the implementation of regulations that implied,
in turn, greater energy efficiency of internal combustion engines and control
of polluting emissions. And standards and techniques appeared to avoid
excessive dependence on fuels from petroleum [Cabrera et al., 2000]; some
current technological developments indicate a clear tendency to reduce
consumption and avoid environmental pollution; thus, the dominance of oil is
slowly but surely coming to an end. Probably, by the middle of this century,
oil will take a secondary place in the face of an ever more frequent use of
renewable energy sources, such as that produced by biomass in the
production of alternative fuels from plant products, waste agro-industrial or
urban waste [Sosa, 2006].
The day is not far off when vehicles will run on totally renewable fuels,
based on ethanol, biodiesel or biogas, from crops such as corn, sugar cane
and agro-industrial waste, without depending on oil, a raw material that will be
conserved for the production of plastics, rubber, lubricants, solvents, asphalts
and a wide variety of chemical products, leaving the energy component in
charge of highly advanced motor systems, so that our cities enjoy cleaner air
and no exhaust gases are produced. greenhouse that cause global warming
and destroy the protective ozone layer.
In Mexico, the main agro-industry is the sugar industry; It is also one of those that
offers the highest number of jobs each year and makes the most efficient use of solar
energy. However, up to now, there has not been a bold policy for the use of its products
and by-products that would transform it into a profitable and competitive agribusiness.

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tive globally. Neither have energy consumption control systems been

implemented to guarantee, on the one hand, the efficient use of bagasse
(current main source of energy); and, on the other, the reduction of environmental pollution.
For the production of sugar and cane alcohol (on a smaller scale), which
are basically the only products currently used from this resource, the use of
molasses or C molasses and energy is required, which comes mainly from
combustion. (usually inefficient) from bagasse and low-quality fossil fuels (with
high sulfur content), without considering the options of flexible production of
sugar and ethanol through the combined use of A or B molasses, cane juice or
sugarcane biomass (bagasse and agricultural harvest residues).
The opportunity for Mexican agribusiness to achieve productive and
economic self-sufficiency is in sight: ethanol-based biofuels offer many benefits;
They are good for the environment because they add fewer emissions to the
atmosphere than petroleum fuels and use waste from the sugar cane agro-
industrial process that is not commonly used. Unlike oil, which is a non-
renewable natural resource, biofuels (bioethanol and biodiesel) are renewable
and represent an inexhaustible source of fuel; although carbon dioxide is
released when ethanol is burned, it is recycled within organic tissue during plant
development; in fact, the use of ethanol in gasoline can result in a net reduction
of non-atmospheric carbon dioxide levels [Guo, 2006].

Ethanol (EtOH) is the most widely used biofuel today in the United States,
Brazil, Japan, Colombia, India, and the European Union; Millions of liters are
added to gasoline each year to improve vehicle performance and reduce air
pollution. Ethanol is an alcohol and most of it is made by converting sugars by
fermentation into ethanol, which is then distilled into its final form.

Ethanol is used to increase the octane number of gasoline and improve the
quality of its emissions, like the E10 blend (10% ethanol and 90% gasoline) but
it can be used in higher concentrations, such as the E85 blend or its pure form.
All automobile manufacturers that trade in the world approve the use of certain
mixtures of ethanol and gasoline. Ethanol fuel blends are successfully used in
all types of vehicles and machines that require gasoline [Cabrera et al., 2000].
Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate some scientific-technological,
economic, political and social aspects that the diversification of the sugarcane
agroindustry implies under the premise of ethanol production, from sugarcane
biomass. , by offering a critical evaluation of some of the works published on
sugarcane ethanol and situating them in certain perspectives of

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importance for the development of agro-industry, supporting and synthesizing the

results and conclusions; This made it possible to determine how the subject has
been treated, how it is at the time of making the research proposals and what are
the trends in the medium and long term.

Mexican Agroindustry of Sugar Cane

According to the National Chamber of the Sugar and Alcohol Industries
[CNIAA, 2007] and [Sosa, 2006] sugarcane is produced in 227 municipalities
located in 15 states of the Republic, where 13 percent of the production is
concentrated. the national population (more than 3 million people depend directly
and indirectly on its cultivation and transformation); it generates 0.5% of the
National Gross Domestic Product: 8.9% of the GDP of the Agricultural Sector and
2.4% of the manufacturing industry; It is the seventh world producer of sugar and
the last harvests behaved as follows (Tables 1 and 2):

Table 1. Sugar production in Mexico in the 2002-2007 harvests

(CNIAA, 2007).

Table 2. Production of Ethanol (EtOH) in Mexico (CNIAA, 2007).

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For the 2006-2007 harvest, the sugarcane and sugar agroindustry is going
through a difficult situation. However, the biggest difficulty in the sector is that its
members, although they have already detected their causes, are not united to
analyze the problems and find solutions; This agro-industry is characterized by
enormous technological lags in the fields and factories, obsolete productive
infrastructure, serious problems of contamination and environmental impact,
expensive, insufficient and untimely financing, limited and ambiguous marketing
policies, sugarcane legislation with deep delays, organization of producers with a
vocation paternalistic and little self-management initiative; entrepreneurs with limited
audacity and vision, as well as the absence of an integral and territorial development
project in the short, medium and long term that allow, with order, to consolidate
sustainable development in which all the sectors involved in it participate and are committed. .
In this sense, GEPLACEA [1991], commented more than a decade ago that for
a country that produces sugar cane, like Mexico, two possible alternatives are open:
raising the productivity and effectiveness of production and thus ensuring the
competitiveness of the costs; and on the other hand, to fully diversify, to distribute
risks and be more independent of the physical sugar market.
These alternatives imply a reordering and improvement not only of the
sugarcane and sugar production facilities and areas, but also —and therefore,
integral— of the industries, facilities and support facilities and their labor force
[Viniegra, 2001]. When analyzing the industry, it is observed that it has several
problems or costs that can be improved in the short, medium and long term to
increase its profits without affecting the sugar cane. They are internal situations that
can and must be addressed immediately in order to survive the crisis before it is too late.
To overcome this situation, sugarcane growers can work to increasingly increase
the sugar production of their crops. For their part, the sugar mills have in view the
opportunity to diversify the sector with the option of producing fuel ethanol; This is
the opportunity for a rapprochement between mills and sugar cane growers in the
management and dissemination of information to seek joint solutions. The difficult
situation of the sugar mills can be reversed if they open up to the market for
oxygenating gasoline for automobiles; It is clear that the support of the State is
required through the adoption of more advanced ecological policies, stimuli that
allow the use of cutting-edge industrial and administrative agricultural technology
in the world, only through which it will be possible to obtain competitive and viable
agro-industrial products. to be used as components of reformed gasoline blends [Martínez, 2005].
In 2007, the State promulgated the Law for the Promotion and Development of
Bioenergy and the National Program for the Sugarcane Agroindustry 2007-2012, to
promote and develop the use of bioenergy as key elements.

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to contribute to achieving energy self-sufficiency in the country, through the use

of renewable energies and provide certainty to rural producers, workers,
industrialists and all the agents that make up the production chain, when the
course, goals, mechanisms are established. of collaboration and inter-institutional
coordination, which help to improve the productivity and competitiveness of the
activities of the sugarcane agroindustry.
These initiatives constitute the first step towards the transformation in the
medium term of the sugarcane agroindustry, leaving a long way to go with all the
sectors involved in it: government, industrialists, sugarcane organizations,
academics and researchers, producers and trade groups. The manufacture of
ethanol (EtOH) would improve the economy of the sugar industry, in addition to
contributing to reactivate the field. The large-scale production of it, as fuel, and
alcohol chemistry and its potential applications such as esters, chains of linear
and cyclic organic compounds, detergents, paints, cosmetics, aerosols, soaps,
perfumery, medicines, solvent mixtures, food and others [Enríquez, 2005].

The production of Ethanol from the sugar agro-industry requires the

integration of the distillery with the production of sugar, which enables not only
the use of final molasses, but also juices, intermediate molasses and the use of
bagasse. as energetic.
Other raw material alternatives for the sugar process can be used, such as
filter juices, which represent advantages in saving honey, reducing fuel
consumption, increasing sugar quality and greater sugar-derivative technological
integration. within the agro-industrial complex [Blanco, 2001].

Impact of alcohol-powered engines on air pollution

In Brazil and other countries, the introduction of the gasoline/alcohol mix has
had an immediate impact on air quality in large cities, by eliminating carbon
monoxide emissions when gasoline was the only fuel in use. Table 3 shows the
properties of both fuels.

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Table 3. Properties and characteristics of fuels [Murtagh, 2003;

Enriquez, 1998; and Konchady, 2004].

By 1980, CO emissions were higher than 50 g/km and they were reduced to
less than 5.8 g/km from 1995. One of the disadvantages of using pure ethanol is the
increase in aldehyde emissions when it is used. compared to gasoline or a gasoline/
ethanol blend. As the percentage of ethanol in the mixture continued to increase, a
clear decrease in CO and HC remained constant, while the NOx emission with
respect to pure gasoline increases with the amount of alcohol; As for CO2, emissions
continue to be similar and even slightly higher.
Comparing the emissions of ethanol blends, in proportions greater than 30%,
reductions of 37%, 24% and 20% are observed —on average— in CO, HC and NOx
emissions, respectively (Table 4).

Table 4. Emissions from fuel ethanol [Konchady, 2004; Szwarc, 2001;

and Stupiello, 1982].

The production of Ethanol (EtOH) from the sugar industry requires the integration
of the distillery with the production of sugar; which enables not only the use of the
final molasses, but also the juices, intermediate molasses and the use of bagasse
and RAC (Agricultural Harvest Residues) as energy sources, avoiding the burning
and re-burning of sugarcane fields.

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Other alternatives for raw materials from the sugar process can be used,
such as filter juices that represent advantages in saving honey, decreasing
fuel consumption, increasing sugar quality and greater technological integration
of sugar-derivatives within of the agro-industrial complex.

Disadvantages of using ethanol

The biggest problem with the production of alcohol, starting from sugar
cane, is: the environmental pollution created by the liquid waste from distilleries
(vinasse) and the difficulty, under certain conditions, of obtaining a positive
energy balance. However, in a balanced operation in which the sugar factory
and the distillery are integrated, this problem can be minimized. Other
disadvantages are: it has a lower energy density than gasoline; the driver
must fill up the tank more frequently, it is more expensive than gasoline (about
1.5 times under current Mexican conditions), it generates highly evaporative
emissions, it contains two thirds of the energy contained by the same volume
of gasoline, it presents corrosion problems of mechanical parts and seals, it
presents difficulties to ignite in cold climates, the emissions of nitrogen oxides
and aldehydes increase, and problems with cold ignition with E-100 [Westcott,
2007 and Musalem, 2006]. .
Ironically, sugarcane growers may be among the staunchest opponents
of ethanol production. In Mexico, the sugarcane sector has a complicated
history of contentious labor relations, disputes over prices and land use, and
frequent official interventions. The Mexican government has been inclined to
protect sugarcane producers with subsidies and regulations that directly
affect the price of a ton of sugarcane. Dismantling these protections to
encourage the switch to ethanol carries political risks that the government will
not be willing to take.
At the present time, several ethanol production plans can be developed
for each mill in particular, within parameters established by the industrialists
themselves, without significantly affecting sugar production. The use of A or B
molasses and/or cane juice can satisfy the local demand for ethanol while
simultaneously maintaining sugar production levels. The following benefits
could be obtained at the mill level and sugarcane supply area [Enríquez,
2005]: increase in net income for sugarcane growers, workers and suppliers,
which would inject income into the local economy, increase in net income for
process each ton of cane, reduction of the unit cost of production, increase in
the use of existing industrial capacities in the mills and the field, fresh income from

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taxes, less dependence on foreign ethanol and gasoline, and sustainable use of
natural resources.
When considering the implementation of a national program based on ethanol
and its use as a fuel, the following should be taken into account [Mesa, 2000;
Enriquez, 2005; Farrel 2006; Guo, 2006 and Viniegra,
2007]: 1. Consider the possibility of starting, in principle, on a small scale with
10% ethanol mixed with gasoline and increasing the proportion according
to the advancement of technological, economic and political developments. nationals.
2. Be cautious in the use of technologies proven in other countries on a
commercial scale, systematically evaluating the particular conditions of
each mill when implementing them.
3. The mills' decision to produce ethanol must be based on a careful evaluation
of the objectives and realistic technical and economic feasibility studies.

4. The basic concepts of economics, management of industrial projects,

technical specifications in the design of the distillery, equipment, operating
manuals, materials and services, must be taken into account when evaluating
the project based on costs.
5. The State must legislate and forcefully impose the use of the gasoline/
ethanol mixture, provide fiscal and economic incentives to promote the
mixture, regulate the price of gasohol so that business groups have profits
that amortize their investment.
6. A serious R&D program should be instituted to develop economically
feasible processes for the chemical and/or biological treatment of distillery
waste products and the possibility of recovering by-products; processes
must also be developed to use the lignocellulosic residues of sugar cane.

7. The National Ethanol Program must be based on existing technology that

has been proven, with flexibility to adapt to future developments. Technology
can be used that is already available or that can be transferred from more
advanced industries.
8. Agricultural research and development programs should also be established
in order to obtain new varieties of sugarcane, cultivation methods and
systems, harvesting, and pest and disease management capable of
producing a maximum amount of recoverable biomass per hectare. cultivated.
9. The option to diversify the traditional sugar agro-industry through ethanol will
completely change the nature of the national sugar economy. The change
will depend on the magnitude of the conversion, but it will tend towards a
greater stability of the agro-industry.

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Although this analysis does not show the economics of fuel ethanol
production, if an attempt were made to launch an ethanol program under the
current conditions of the sugarcane agro-industry in Mexico, several obstacles
would be faced; Firstly, PEMEX tends to consider ethanol as a competitor
that would affect its percentage share in the energy market; This resistance
is especially relevant because PEMEX also controls the networks of gas
pipelines and service stations, whose storage tanks must be modified before
receiving gasoline mixed with ethanol.
In addition, it can be said that its current high cost, in relation to petroleum
derivatives, constitutes the reason why the political decisions and regulations
of fiscal stimulus, research, technology transfer and others (by the federal
government) that allow in the medium term to promote its intensive use and
for this sector to be competitive on a par with oil. Another important aspect is
the automobile industry, which may also resist the introduction of ethanol.
Although multinational automakers such as Volkswagen, General Motors,
Ford and others openly support ethanol gasoline, their dealerships in
countries like Mexico will face the prejudices that people will have about that
fuel. Many mistakenly believe that even small amounts of ethanol can harm
the engine of their vehicles, for example. Without strong incentives to do so,
car dealers are unlikely to take on the job of educating their customers about
the benefits of ethanol.
Undoubtedly, biofuels are a transition to the future in terms of energy.
In other words, they constitute a kind of bridge between hydrocarbons and
the renewable energies of the future. However, the processes of incorporating
the production, transport, distribution and commercialization of biofuels are
very long term. The introduction of these fuels requires a strict political will
and institutional agreement between government agencies is vital.
Participation and commitment from the private sector are critical to the
success of the program. In addition, the production of biofuels involves a
large amount of local labor, with varying degrees of preparation to cover
agricultural, energy, commercial, technological, quality control needs, etc. [Canizales, 2001].
When producing biofuels, it is essential not to establish competition with
food production, since, due to the current conditions of the field, Mexico is no
longer self-sufficient in almost any type of agricultural product, with the
exception of sugar cane [Musalem, 2006].

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Production processes to obtain ethanol

The production of Ethanol from the sugar agro-industry requires the integration of the
distillery with the production of sugar, which enables not only the use of final molasses,
but also juices, intermediate molasses and the use of bagasse. as energetic.

Other alternatives for raw materials in the sugar process can be used, such as these:
which represent advantages in saving honey, reducing fuel consumption, increasing the
quality of sugar, and greater technological integration of sugar-derivatives within the agro-
industrial complex. . In a general sense, the options for the production of ethanol (EtOH),
from sugar cane, are the following [Murtagh, 2003]:

1. Through the use of molasses, as is customary in Mexico and in most sugar

producing countries.
2. Use intermediate honeys "A" and "B", with significant increases in yield and for
quality drinks.
3. The juice or guarapo is used directly for this purpose. This is done in autonomous
distilleries; disregarding, then, the sugar production area.

4. Use of poor juices (maceration and filtering).

5. Fermentation of sugars from the sugarcane biomass (bagasse or sewing residues
cha).
Obtaining alcohol from molasses (A, B, or C) differs from other raw materials, such as
corn, potato, milo, and others, in that these are plant products with a high carbohydrate
content stored in the form of starch. Therefore, these materials must go through a cooking
pretreatment or enzymatic treatment process to hydrolyze them into fermentable sugars.
In contrast, the carbohydrates present in molasses are already available and do not
require treatment, based on the properties of some microorganisms to metabolize sugars
and produce ethyl alcohol as waste.

For the particular case of hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials from sugar cane or
breakdown of the molecules in an aqueous medium, its purpose is the transformation of
complex sugars (polysaccharides) into simple carbohydrates. This is accomplished with
sulfuric or hydrochloric acid at high temperatures and short or long operating times; the
acid acts as a catalyst and a mixture of glucose and xylose is obtained with some
degradation products such as acetic acid, furfural and derivatives of lignin breakdown
[Canizalez, 2001; Krishna, 2000].
Distillery stillage can become a source of by-products and an asset if this problem is
addressed systematically and with financial resources.

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suitable. Another important factor is the cost of the distillery that depends on
factors such as location, raw material and legislation [Agrawal, 1997].
The separation of dilute aqueous solutions of ethanol (EtOH) (from 96 °GL to
99.99 °GL) has been a well-studied and industrially tested process. However, the
need to obtain dehydrated alcohol in order to be used as an oxygenating additive
for gasoline has imposed a series of challenges on the industry and research
centers, in order to reduce the energy costs of EtOH recovery while complying the
corresponding quality standards. Additionally, the environmental impact of some
traditional separation technologies has made research on alternative and
unconventional schemes much more intense [Sánchez, 2005].

On the other hand, the diversity of technological alternatives for the production
of fuel ethanol has made the analysis of the global process crucial, along with the
design and development of each of the operations that comprise it. Among the
new research and development trends in this area is the integration of the process
with a view to revealing the very complex interactions between the different stages
of the production process [Farell, 2006]. The development of integrated processes
will allow a substantial reduction in production costs and increase the
competitiveness of bioethanol compared to gasoline. On the other hand, the
integration of processes is an essential condition to optimize the ethanol production
process, in such a way that not only the minimization of production costs or the
maximization of different financial indicators are considered as objectives, but also
the improvement of the environmental performance indices of this process [Guo, 2006].

Conclusions and reflections

The availability of oil which, according to current reserves and consumption,
allows us to anticipate that it will run out in approximately 35 years and the need
to have ecological fuels, with a high octane rating and a degree of oxygenation
make it necessary to seriously consider strategies of generation of energy sources
that allow our country to continue developing and maintain autonomy and
independence with great economic and social implications. These strategies must
have a high potential to replace the depletion of oil without it becoming a national
catastrophe and autonomy. One of the paths is to evaluate different alternatives
so that, in a period of about 20 years, a sustainable, competitive and profitable
technology will be available.
The energy use of sugarcane biomass has a long tradition in the world sugar
industry; however, the low efficiency, coupled with the fact that energy can only be
available during the grinding period, constitute fundamental limitations.

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fundamental for the most rational use of this precious resource. The needs of
development require increasing amounts of energy and along with this, the
reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
At present, there are already interesting results on the use of ethanol as fuel
or as an oxygenating agent, developed in CONACyT centers and Mexican
universities that demonstrate the feasibility of this technology; and that also makes
use of renewable resources and presents ecological advantages. Therefore, one
strategy could be to start with a program for the production of ethanol to be used
as an oxygenating agent for the current gasoline and later increase it until it
reaches 100%. There is no doubt that this is a path in which the different actors
must be committed: car manufacturers to develop test models; PEMEX to
oxygenate gasoline with ethanol; the State —by means of laws that regulate its
use and grant incentives for private initiative—; or that the government itself invest
in the development of this technology; researchers, to achieve an economic and
profitable process; society, to ensure that the new alternative does not contaminate
or generate health risks; field workers, to have better yields and characteristics of
the raw material to be used and to organize its collection.
The selection of molasses, guarapo, sugarcane bagasse and RAC, as raw
materials, is due to the fact that they are a source of fermentable sugars and that
it has traditionally been collected and stored in mills that are distributed in 15
states. Even though ethanol is produced in some, it is not anhydrous and the
production capacity is not sufficient for the demand that is expected. Therefore, it
will be necessary to build new plants with new technologies that allow the use of
cheaper raw materials, such as sugarcane bagasse and RAC. Due to its
magnitude, it is an interesting opportunity that would allow solving the economic
difficulties of the present and could supply the national demand for the
pharmaceutical and food industries; and, in fact, a large part of the gasoline
consumed in the country could be oxygenated with ethanol.
It is also important to mention that because they have sugars, the sugarcane
bagasse and the RAC must undergo a hydrolysis process to free the sugar units
that will later be used in fermentation. In this aspect, a significant effort must be
made to acquire or develop a technically and economically viable technology, as
well as in the optimization of energy management; At the same time, the gradual
increase in cultivated area should be planned and support should be given to
improve yields per hectare.
The use of ethanol will bring ecological, economic and social benefits;
therefore, it is important to develop technologies for a production that allows
satisfying the demand at affordable prices. For all of the above, it is necessary to
have tools and criteria that allow our country to make the right decisions and plan a

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Bioethanol from sugarcane...

strategy that ensures development, autonomy and balance with the

environment; For these reasons, it is important to generate information about
the economic evaluation of the different technological alternatives for the
production of ethanol from renewable resources, mainly sugarcane. In an
initial stage, identify the “bottlenecks” of this process and propose specific
research goals that will improve the profitability of this type of project.
Some of the elements that could form part of the transition strategy for the
Mexican sugar agroindustry towards the production of ethanol and other
derivatives require the participation and coordination of all sectors involved in
the agroindustry (sugar cane, industrial, service providers and federal
government), in such a way that the policies defined to promote the transition
strategy of agribusiness have the support and commitment of all. Because
today agribusiness needs more than ever to be well integrated, forming a
single front to defend its existence and continue to participate in the context
of the national economy.
However, it is essential to highlight that the main challenge facing the
energy sector is to propose a diagnosis free of any doubt or intransigent
position in order to build solutions that have the support of the majority and
that benefit all stakeholders. mexicans.

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Received: May 16, 2007

Accepted: November 26, 2007

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