International Cooperation to Develop Global Bioenergy Capacity: US and Brazil Bilateral Collaboration on Biofuels

Presentation by Helena Chum (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) US led by its State Department, and Brazil led by Department of Energy of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, have entered into an MOU to advance cooperation of Biofuels. Sharing best practices include biomass characterization, techno-economic and life cycle analyses, and biofuel sustainability.
During the course of mutual and exchange visits, better understanding of each country's capabilities and limitations in the production of biofuels was reached. While Brazil undertook round robin analysis across ten institutes, the US prepared homogeneous bagasse samples and conducted an audit of the round robin analysis. Special training and regular courses were part of this program.
Sugarcane to ethanol benchmarking and increased bagasse utilization was part of a Brazilian thesis. US ANL's GREET adapted key parameters to Brazilian conditions. This resulted in better practices at several Brazilian mills. And, a few joint papers on training and industrial benchmark were produced. A Brazilian expert, having trained in the US, is now training professionals in Brazil, and on sugarcane ethanol production in Africa.
Bilateral collaboration resulted in expanded horizons for R&D, leveraging investments and trade, and most importantly, supports global bioenergy capacity development.
Key words: GREET, bioenergy, Brazil, NREL, sugarcane, bagasse, Mozambique, carbon financing READ MORE