Marcos BuckeridgeDepartamento de Botânica
Instituto de Biociências – USP
Biofuels Research in Brazil: a perpective
MOTIVATION TO DO RESEARCH AND USE BIOENERGYMOTIVATION TO DO RESEARCH AND USE BIOENERGY
Energy SecurityEnergy Security
Global Climate ChangeGlobal Climate Change
BIOENERGY:what is it?
…renewable energy made available from materials derived from biological
sources
photosynthesisphotosynthesis
SunLightSunLight
Plant bodyPlant body
Wood, bagasseWood, bagasse
biodieselbiodiesel
alcoholalcohol
Engines, industry,
transportation
Engines, industry,
transportation
ElectricityElectricity
Fire, heatingFire, heating
millions of years
millions of years
OILOIL
Gasoline
THE SCIENCE FOR BIOENERGY: THE FUTURE AND IN THE PRESENT
Center for direct catalytic conversionCenter for direct catalytic conversionof biomass to of biomass to biofuelsbiofuels (C3Bio) (C3Bio)
Tailoring biomass to fit the Tailoring biomass to fit the biofuelsbiofuels pipelinepipeline
Conversion technologies for next-generation biofuels
Sugar Fermentation
Syn gasBiomass Fischer-Tropsch
Fuel + High-Value Organics
catalytic conversion Pyrolysis Catalyticupgrading
The maize and sorghum genomes are engines of discovery for improvement of bioenergy grasses
• Close evolutionary relationship to the future bioenergy grasses
• The cell walls of maize and sorghum and its gene networks for
• Complex genomes similar to other C4 energy grasses
• Their genetic diversity gives great potential for improved
• Long history of genetic discoveries and breeding
• A wealth of genetic tools that is ever growing
• Now completed genome sequences
wall biogenesis are characteristic of all grasses Paterson et al. (2009) Nature 457, 551-556Schnable et al. (2009) Science 326, 1112-1115
agricultural traits of interest
success
Tropical maize and sweet sorghum could also become transitional if notterminal bioenergy crops
Maize and sorghum can serve as good models for sugarcane, as the latter isan octaploid with very complex genetic problems to be solved
THE GENERATIONS OF SUGARCANE BIOTHANOL
Cane
Sucrose
Cell Wall
acid
Enzymes
glucose, xylose e arabinose
BIOETHANOL
Cane genomeFungal genome
Enzyme structure
1
1
4
2, 3 e 4
4
3
4
2
Rotas para o etano
l celulósico –Marcos Bu
ckeridge, m
sbuck@
usp.br
Termochemical Routegasification, pirolysis
2
2
Green gasoline
5
SUGARCANE AND ETHANOL IN BRAZIL
Flavio Fernandes , Edmilson Moutinho dos Santos, Instituto Brasileiro de Petróleo e Gás - IBP
IS IT WORTHWHILE?
Domestication and early evolution of sugarcane
Saccharum sinenceSaccharum barberi(crosses to wild relatives natural hybrids)
Sugar extraction
Saccharum officinarum
Chewing
8000 BC
1000‐15
00
BC 500 A
D
SE AsiaPacific Islands
Intertropics Persia
Manufacturing
6th ‐8
th
Centu
ry
MediterraneanSpain
15th
Centu
ry
CanaryMadeiraWest Africa
16th
Centu
ry
Cottage industries
World trade plantation factories
Saccharum officinarum clones
Dominican RepublicBrasil
19th
Centu
ry
S. officinarum X S. spontaneum (interspecifichybrids)
JavaIndia
Modern Breeding
Mod
ern sugarcan
e cultivars
The use of ethanol in Brazil started in the Northeast at the beginning of the 20th Century
Photography showing one of the tanks for ethanol storage as Usina Serra Grande (Source: Museu Carlos Lyra)
In April 1933, there were ethanol pumps serving cars in several cities in the Northeast of Brazil: 3 in Recife; 1 in Caruaru, 1 in Garanhuns, 2 in Maceió, 1 in Serra Grande, 1 in União dos Palmares.
Cars selling of light vehicles in Brazil (1979‐2007)
0,0200,0400,0600,0800,0
1.000,01.200,01.400,01.600,01.800,02.000,0
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Thou
sand
Uni
ts
100%Eth Cars Gasoline Cars FlexFuel Cars
ProalcoholProalcoholFlex enginesFlex engines
CorrosionCorrosion Optimization of combustion
Optimization of combustion
Processamento em uma usina sucro-alcoleira
ACTIVE BIOENERGY RESEARCH PROGRAMS IN BRAZIL
CeProBIO
A INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH NERWORK IS NOW BEING ASSEMBLEDA INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH NERWORK IS NOW BEING ASSEMBLED
PURDUE, CCRC
BIOEN, CTBEINCT
FP7CeProBio
FAPESPCNPQNSFBBSRC
FULBRIGHT
FAPESPCNPQNSFBBSRC
FULBRIGHT
Pilot PlantCTBE
Pilot PlantCTBE
INDUSTRY US$ ?
SIBRATEC
US$ 3miUS$ 20 mi
US$ 40 mi
US$ 5 mi
Centros Paulistas de Bioenergia
US$ 10mi US$ 47mi TOTAL: US$ 120 mi
Science and technologies for bioethanol production
STATEGIES TO IMPROVE SUGARCANE ETHANOL SUSTAINABILITY
IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY- Average today: 80 t/ha- Goal: 120 t/ha- There are records of >300 t/ha- We continue to develop more productive varieties- Photosynthesis can be improved
IMPROVING 1st GEN ETOH-We can still improve sucrose in Brazilian varieties. - Engineering can improve process eficieny, especially the fermentation step
DEVELOPING 2nd GEN ETOH-2/3 of the energy in sugaracne is in the cell walls- Part of it is used for bioelectricity-Biorefinery can be developed
- GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANTS FOR HIGHER SUCROSE- YEAST SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
-CELL WALL ARCHITECTURE-PRETREATMENT- HYDROLYSIS-PENTOSE FERMENTATION
-MINERAL NUTRITION-WATER RELATIONS- PHOTOSYNTHESIS
IMPROVE EFFICIENCY OF COMBUSTION OF ETHANOL IN ENGINES
Using the CO2 produced during the process to empower algae to make biodiesel could be a great help to decrease CO2 emissions
Sugarcane leaves performe C4 photosynthesis
CO2
CO2CO2
CO2Mesophyll cellsBundle Sheath
Amanda Souza & Marcos Buckeridge – Photosynthesis in Sugarcane, Cortez, L. 2010
CO2CO2
SucroseSucrose
Triose‐PTriose‐P
Hexose‐PHexose‐P
PhotosynthesisPhotosynthesis
UDP‐GlcUDP‐Glc
ADP-GPP
UDP-GPP
Sucrose‐PSucrose‐P
Chloroplast
HK
Glc & FruGlc & Fru
INV
SPS
cytoplasm
vacuole
CellWallCellWall
GR
OW
TH
ADP‐GlcADP‐GlcStarchStarch
STO
RA
GE
SUGARCANEElevated CO2
SPP
THE ARCHITECTURE OF SUGARCANE CELL WALL
Dos Santos, Pimentel & Buckeridge, Unpublished
Primary walls: Cell Suspension
Cell wall of stem
0,0 10,0 20,0 30,0 40,0 55,0-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200 Oxg Xylogluan-ArabinoXylan #10 Cana 0,5U 24H ECD_1nC
min
1 - 3,783
2 - 5,908
3 - 9,200
4 - 11,542
5 - 13,017
6 - 15,142
7 - 16,608
8 - 20,092
9 - 21,092
10 - 21,492
11 - 22,025 12 - 29,200
0,0 10,0 20,0 30,0 40,0 55,0-20
0
13
25
38
50
63
75
88
100
113
125
140 Oxg Xylogluan-ArabinoXylan #42 Lichen. hemicel ECD_1nC
min
1 - 2,6672 - 3,433
3 - 3,958
4 - 5,3675 - 5,992
6 - 8,1927 - 10,0588 - 12,5179 - 13,70010 - 14,592
11 - 16,175
12 - 17,342
13 - 18,442
14 - 20,308
15 - 21,908
HPAECArabinoxylan
HPAECBeta-glucan
Augusto Crivellari & Marcos Buckeridge – unpublished results
Aspergillus niger, one of the model fungi species under
study at the INCTPhotos: Gustavo Goldman
120 kDa‐85 kDa‐
50 kDa‐
35 kDa‐
25 kDa‐
19 kDa‐
1 2 3 4 5 6
Heterologous expression of hydrolases
Biodiversidade Structural studies Kinetic studies
Scaling up to Industrial process
Bioinformatics and Systems BiologyFi
gure
: Igo
r Pol
ikar
pov
Genomic studies
PE-2 and CAT-1: Fungal-type cell wall organization
CA
T-1-
Feed
ing
CA
T-1-
Feed
ing
CA
T-1-
Ferm
enta
tion
CA
T-1-
Ferm
enta
tion
0.0 +2.120.0 +2.46
PE
-2-F
eedi
ng
PE
-2-F
eedi
ng
PE
-2-F
erm
enta
tion
PE
-2-F
erm
enta
tion
Figure: Gustavo Goldman
e-Science: we are flooded with information
Craddock et al. 2008. Nature Reviews
The human dimension of biofuels
CropCrop
waterwater
LandLand
BiomassBiomass
BiofuellBiofuell
TransportationTransportation
CO2CO2
IndustryIndustry$
$
$
$
$
$ IMPORTANT ISSUESGHG LCA analysis
Social impactsEconomical impacts
LAND
Potential of different areas for production of sugarcane in Brazil based on soil and climate without irrigation
Amazon Rainforest
Pantanal
Atlantic Forest
Other important preservation areas
Above 12% slope
High
Average
Low (World average)
Inapropriate
Controlled Trafic Structure (CTS): to be used for precision agriculture
WATER
Feedstock production (sugar cane)
Green water: evapotranspiration ‐ “water footprint”
Brazil – more than 75% of sugar cane is rainfed
Feedstock production (sugar cane)
Green water: evapotranspiration ‐ “water footprint”
Brazil – more than 75% of sugar cane is rainfed
IrrigationIrrigation
RainfedRainfed
Gerbens‐Leenes et al. (2008)de Faiture and Berndes (2009)
Strategies to reduce impacts on water Strategies to reduce impacts on water resourcesresources
• Control use of herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals on sugarcane crops.
• Avoid expansion of sugarcane crops to areas devoid of riparian buffers.• Monitor use of water resources and impacts to water quality.• Promote industrial practices that reduce use of water and recycle. (e.g.
Project for water use reduction in the sugarcane industry created by the Sugarcane Technology Center (CTC) Sao Paulo – Brazil and more recently Dedini Company).
• Implement public policies to promote reduction in water use (e.g, charging for water use in the state of Sao Paulo is showing positive results).
• Enforce laws to protect and restore riparian buffers.
Apresentado por Luiz Martinelli – Workshop on Biofuel Technologies and their Implications for Water and Land use
ECONOMY
Cost versus production of ethanol in Brazil
R$0,40‐R$0,70/liter
Year
Millions of m3 US$/m3
Production Cost
http://www.biodieselbr.com/energia/alcool/etanol.htm
Ethanol resists to fluctuations in prices of oil
03000
60009000
12000
1500018000
2100024000
1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007
Etha
nol P
rodu
ctio
n 10
6 Litr
es
010
203040
5060
7080
Oil
Pric
e/B
arre
l WTI
US$
Ethanol Production_Brazil Oil Price/Barrel
SOCIETY
Complex themes require inter and transdisciplinary approaches
BIOEN
ERGY
Inter X Multi X Transdisciplinary
Although denotations of these terms look similar to the layperson, one should not mix them:
Multidisciplinary: disciplines run in parallel, WITHOUT interaction;
Interdisciplinary: disciplines run in parallel, WITH interaction;
Transdisciplinary: interdisciplinary actions with the participation of society.
Environmental sciencesEnvironmental sciences
PhysicsPhysics
BiologyBiology
ChemistryChemistry11
22
22
22
Environmental sciencesEnvironmental sciences
PhysicsPhysics
BiologyBiologyChemistryChemistry11
2222
22
SCIENCE OF COMPLEXITY!
CONNECTING BASIC SCIENCE WITH TECHNOLOGY
PRODUCTION
BASIC SCIENCEBASIC SCIENCE
INDUSTRIALINDUSTRIAL
AGRICULTUREAGRICULTURE
SUSTEINABIITYSUSTEINABIITY
BSBS
BSBS
BSBS
Precision agriculturePrecision agriculture
Pilot PlantPilot Plant7,000 m2, with two
floors, several labs and one pilot plant, CTBE wants to have, in one place a transdiciplinaryinstitutions with national
and international connections.
The aim: improve technologies for
ethanol production
Physics and ChemistryPhysics and Chemistry
MicrobiologyMicrobiology
Process ScienceProcess Science
Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology
Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology
TheaterTheater Cell BiologyCell Biology
BioinformaticsBioinformatics
GreenhouseGreenhouseEcophysiologyEcophysiology
e-SciTBE
Plant Biology Biotechnology
Physics & Chemistry
IndustrialAgriculture
Virtual Biorefinery
BERDSLignoCel
Plant Cell Wall Microorganisms
Sustainability
Bas
ic S
cien
ce P
rogr
am
Oth
er P
rogr
ams
at C
TBE
Protein StructureLNBio
Plasma for Pretreatment & ignition LNLS
Lignin
Enzyme Kinetics
ImageLaboratory
LNLS
PhotosynthesisLNLS
C & NMetabolisms
CarbohydratesLNLS/LNBio
Fermentation of pentoses
Systems Biology
EnzymePolysaccharide
relationship
Synthetic Biology
MEGAEXPERIMENT
Marcos BuckeridgeBasic Science
WHAT IS IT?The MEGAEXPERIMENT is a group of parallel
scaling up experiments that integrate different parts of the 2nd process aiming to
improve the process of production of lignocellulosic ethanol from sugarcane
General Strategy
Evaluate the status of the following steps of ethanol production:
1)Source and quality of biomass
2)Pre‐treatment
3)Hydrolysis
4)Fermentation
5)Distillation
Marcos BuckeridgeDepartamento de Botânica
Instituto de Biociências – USP
THANK YOU