LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF THE ETHANOL PRODUCTION FROM MOLASSES

Abstract

The converting biomass to biofuels is a vital choice for the subjugation of alternative sources of energy and elimination of polluting gases due to the exhaustion of fossil fuels. As it is environmentally friendly, and available as a blend with gasoline for combustion engines, ethanol has emerged as a possible substitute. In the US, Brazil, China, and other nations, bioethanol is already used. It is possible to use agricultural waste, especially molasses, a by-product produced during the sugarcane refining process to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The effects of the changing land-use on the development of the sugar cane have been reviewed in this report. In most situations, compared to conventional gasoline (CG), higher upstream effects of ethanolbased molasses appear to have an impact on its net life-cycle impact. Under the particular conditions considered, this results in a fuel blend that is less environmentally friendly than CG. The effect of ethanol-gasoline on efficiency and emission levels is analyzed in this report. In order to determine the environmental impacts of ethanol from sugar beet and sugarcane over its entire life cycle, we evaluated the life cycle assessment (LCA) of sugarcane and sugar beet ethanol. This study also analyzed the economic effects of bioethanol production and the ethanol net energy balance dependent on molasses.