Molasses Would Be the Preferred Raw Material for Ethanol Production in Guyana

by Audreyanna Thomas (Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc./Stabroek News) The Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (GuySuCo) would like to provide some information which it is hoped would add to the current debate on ethanol production as a viable business activity for the corporation.

It has been noted that a number of ill-informed exponents of ethanol, tend to project the yield of ethanol from sugarcane as 80 to 85 litres per ton of sugarcane; however, this high yield is obtained in the centre-south of Brazil where conditions favour high accumulation of sugars and pol in cane is in excess of 14%. Similar conditions will be found in Australia, and southern Africa. The sugarcane sugar contents in Guyana are similar to the north-east of Brazil where average pol in cane rarely exceeds 11-12%. The yield of ethanol from these canes will not exceed 70 litres per ton of cane. Ethanol production from molasses is of the order of 260 litres per ton.

There have been a number of detailed studies (Davis et al, 2005; Horta and Coviello, 2007; Worthington, 2007; Zabrockis and Coviello, 2009) which were conducted between 2004 to 2009 in the Guyana sugar industry on the feasibility of ethanol. These have all suggested that the most profitable route for ethanol would be from molasses, a by-product of sugar production and as such it is assigned a nominal value.

Another key factor for consideration to substitute ethanol for sugar is oil. The selling price of fuel grade ethanol is linked to oil prices. The current price of a barrel of oil is approximately US$45-49; this translates to US$1.16 per gallon at the higher price.

By using the Brazilian Index as a guide, the parity price advantage for fuel ethanol production over sugar at the current world market price of US$0.29/Kg should require better than US$0.48 per litre or US$1.86 per gallon.

An essential point to note is that the feasibility of any venture is dependent on the cost of the raw material, and unfortunately the present costs of production for sugarcane in Guyana are unfavourable for the production of either sugar or ethanol. Hence, the corporation’s present emphasis on improving efficiencies and productivity in agriculture.

This would suggest that 45,000 tons of molasses could be available for fuel ethanol and this quantity of molasses would only produce 11.7 million litres of fuel ethanol.