Sunday, May 31, 2009

RFA: 2000th E85 station opens in Miami















By Hope Deutscher

Two thousand E85 station are now operating in the U.S. On May 28, the renewable fuels industry officially celebrated the grand opening of Griffin U-Gas in Davies, Fla., which is located just north of Miami.

E85, which is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, can only be used in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). According to the RFA, there are currently approximately eight million FFVs on the nation’s road. There are a total of 26 stations that sell E85 in Florida. The Griffin U-Gas station is one of 12 new E85 stations that have been built in Florida over the last several months.

To celebrate the opening of the 2,000th E85 station, the Renewable Fuels Association sponsored a fuel promotion. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., the station offered discounted E85 for $1; at the other 11 E85 stations in Florida, the fuel was sold for $1.85. The Renewable Fuels Association, Protec Fuel Management, Urbieta Oil, U-Gas, General Motors Co., and Enterprise Rent-a-Car assisted with the station’s opening and supported the promotional effort.

“What today’s all about is celebrating that milestone [the 2000th E85 station], not only in U.S. ethanol history but also the milestone that this particular station is outside the Corn Belt,” said Robert White, director of market development for the RFA. “E85 is not just a Midwest niche any more. It’s actually coming to the areas where the populations are, in most cases where the flex-fuel vehicle counts are extremely high, and in particular, that’s true in the Miami area.”
The station is owned by U-Gas, which owns all of the current E85 stations in Florida. “For me personally, it feels really good when I fuel up to know that I’m not sending money to countries that are not that friendly to us,” Willie Urbieta, president of U-Gas, said.

“These guys have seen that E85 is going to be the wave of the future, they know the number of flex-fuel vehicles that are in the state, the numbers that are sitting on dealership lots and more importantly the commitment that automakers have and maybe even Congress has with making sure there are more flex-fuel vehicles in the future. They know that if they position themselves first, it will pay dividends down the road,” White said.

Over the past 18 months, the Southeast has seen an increase in the availability of ethanol in the form of E10, which White said has brought denatured alcohol in a pure blend that petroleum marketers can blend at any level. “Once you have product brought in for E10 it can just as easily be blended for E85 and so these marketers are starting to see these opportunities especially if they have the equipment already or it’s a cheap conversion for them. They’ll use one of their stations as a pilot project to test it out.”

“Increasing the production and use of ethanol in places like Florida is helping provide stability to our motor fuels market against the volatile and costly nature of the world oil market,” RFA President Bob Dinneen said. “Congratulations to Griffin U-Gas, Urbieta Oil, Protec Fuel Management and the people of Florida on the opening of the 2000th E85 station and for their commitment to helping set America on a path toward greater energy independence.”

RFA: 2000th E85 station opens in Miami















By Hope Deutscher

Two thousand E85 station are now operating in the U.S. On May 28, the renewable fuels industry officially celebrated the grand opening of Griffin U-Gas in Davies, Fla., which is located just north of Miami.

E85, which is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, can only be used in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). According to the RFA, there are currently approximately eight million FFVs on the nation’s road. There are a total of 26 stations that sell E85 in Florida. The Griffin U-Gas station is one of 12 new E85 stations that have been built in Florida over the last several months.

To celebrate the opening of the 2,000th E85 station, the Renewable Fuels Association sponsored a fuel promotion. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., the station offered discounted E85 for $1; at the other 11 E85 stations in Florida, the fuel was sold for $1.85. The Renewable Fuels Association, Protec Fuel Management, Urbieta Oil, U-Gas, General Motors Co., and Enterprise Rent-a-Car assisted with the station’s opening and supported the promotional effort.

“What today’s all about is celebrating that milestone [the 2000th E85 station], not only in U.S. ethanol history but also the milestone that this particular station is outside the Corn Belt,” said Robert White, director of market development for the RFA. “E85 is not just a Midwest niche any more. It’s actually coming to the areas where the populations are, in most cases where the flex-fuel vehicle counts are extremely high, and in particular, that’s true in the Miami area.”
The station is owned by U-Gas, which owns all of the current E85 stations in Florida. “For me personally, it feels really good when I fuel up to know that I’m not sending money to countries that are not that friendly to us,” Willie Urbieta, president of U-Gas, said.

“These guys have seen that E85 is going to be the wave of the future, they know the number of flex-fuel vehicles that are in the state, the numbers that are sitting on dealership lots and more importantly the commitment that automakers have and maybe even Congress has with making sure there are more flex-fuel vehicles in the future. They know that if they position themselves first, it will pay dividends down the road,” White said.

Over the past 18 months, the Southeast has seen an increase in the availability of ethanol in the form of E10, which White said has brought denatured alcohol in a pure blend that petroleum marketers can blend at any level. “Once you have product brought in for E10 it can just as easily be blended for E85 and so these marketers are starting to see these opportunities especially if they have the equipment already or it’s a cheap conversion for them. They’ll use one of their stations as a pilot project to test it out.”

“Increasing the production and use of ethanol in places like Florida is helping provide stability to our motor fuels market against the volatile and costly nature of the world oil market,” RFA President Bob Dinneen said. “Congratulations to Griffin U-Gas, Urbieta Oil, Protec Fuel Management and the people of Florida on the opening of the 2000th E85 station and for their commitment to helping set America on a path toward greater energy independence.”

Friday, May 29, 2009

Coca-Cola "Coke" lança garrafa ecologicamente correta feita de etanol de cana-de-açúcar















A Coca-Cola Company anunciou na quinta-feira (14/05/09) o lançamento de uma nova garrafa plástica parcialmente feita de etanol de cana-de-açúcar, totalmente reciclável, com menor dependência de fontes não renováveis, e que reduz as emissões de carbono em comparação às garrafas plásticas tradicionais.

As garrafas da Coca-Cola são feitas de uma mistura de materiais com base em petróleo e 30% de materiais derivados de etanol. A Coca-Cola está pesquisando o uso de outras plantas para futuras gerações da garrafa ambientalmente correta.

“A iniciativa da Coca-Cola em utilizar, num primeiro momento, uma parcela de polietileno derivado de etanol na produção de garrafas PET e em considerar para o futuro garrafas 100% derivadas desta matéria-prima é uma medida concreta para a mitigação de gases de efeito estufa e uso de matérias-primas renováveis e recicláveis”, afirmou o consultor de emissões e tecnologia da União da Indústria de Cana-de-Açúcar (UNICA), Alfred Szwarc.

A maior fabricante de bebidas do mundo, com matriz em Atlanta (EUA), afirmou que vai começar a utilizar as chamadas, “Garrafas Verdes” (PlantBottle), em sua marca de aguá, Dasani, e, ainda este ano, em outras marcas de bebidas gaseificadas do mercado norte americano.

“A ‘Garrafa Verde’ é um significante avanço na inovação de embalagens sustentáveis,” afirmou o presidente da Coca-Cola Company, Muhtar Kent. "Isso soma ao nosso legado ambiental e estabelece um caminho para concretizarmos nossa visão de introduzir garrafas produzidas de materiais que são 100% recicláveis e renováveis.”

A produção da nova garrafa de plástico é ambientalmente mais eficiente. Uma análise de ciclo de vida, conduzida pela Universidade de Londres (Imperial College London) mostra que a “Garrafa Verde” reduz em até 25% as emissões de carbono se comparadas com uma garrafa PET tradicional, de petróleo.

Outra vantagem é que, diferente de outras garrafas plásticas produzidas a partir de biomassa, a “Garrafa Verde” pode ser industrializada nos processos de produção e reciclagem convencionais. Sua matéria-prima pode ser usada, reciclado e reutilizado por muitas vezes.

“A ‘Garrafa Verde’ representa o próximo passo rumo à garrafa do futuro,” conclui o diretor de embalagens sustentáveis da Coca-Cola Company, Scott Vitters

Coca-Cola "Coke" lança garrafa ecologicamente correta feita de etanol de cana-de-açúcar















A Coca-Cola Company anunciou na quinta-feira (14/05/09) o lançamento de uma nova garrafa plástica parcialmente feita de etanol de cana-de-açúcar, totalmente reciclável, com menor dependência de fontes não renováveis, e que reduz as emissões de carbono em comparação às garrafas plásticas tradicionais.

As garrafas da Coca-Cola são feitas de uma mistura de materiais com base em petróleo e 30% de materiais derivados de etanol. A Coca-Cola está pesquisando o uso de outras plantas para futuras gerações da garrafa ambientalmente correta.

“A iniciativa da Coca-Cola em utilizar, num primeiro momento, uma parcela de polietileno derivado de etanol na produção de garrafas PET e em considerar para o futuro garrafas 100% derivadas desta matéria-prima é uma medida concreta para a mitigação de gases de efeito estufa e uso de matérias-primas renováveis e recicláveis”, afirmou o consultor de emissões e tecnologia da União da Indústria de Cana-de-Açúcar (UNICA), Alfred Szwarc.

A maior fabricante de bebidas do mundo, com matriz em Atlanta (EUA), afirmou que vai começar a utilizar as chamadas, “Garrafas Verdes” (PlantBottle), em sua marca de aguá, Dasani, e, ainda este ano, em outras marcas de bebidas gaseificadas do mercado norte americano.

“A ‘Garrafa Verde’ é um significante avanço na inovação de embalagens sustentáveis,” afirmou o presidente da Coca-Cola Company, Muhtar Kent. "Isso soma ao nosso legado ambiental e estabelece um caminho para concretizarmos nossa visão de introduzir garrafas produzidas de materiais que são 100% recicláveis e renováveis.”

A produção da nova garrafa de plástico é ambientalmente mais eficiente. Uma análise de ciclo de vida, conduzida pela Universidade de Londres (Imperial College London) mostra que a “Garrafa Verde” reduz em até 25% as emissões de carbono se comparadas com uma garrafa PET tradicional, de petróleo.

Outra vantagem é que, diferente de outras garrafas plásticas produzidas a partir de biomassa, a “Garrafa Verde” pode ser industrializada nos processos de produção e reciclagem convencionais. Sua matéria-prima pode ser usada, reciclado e reutilizado por muitas vezes.

“A ‘Garrafa Verde’ representa o próximo passo rumo à garrafa do futuro,” conclui o diretor de embalagens sustentáveis da Coca-Cola Company, Scott Vitters

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Big Oil Warms to Ethanol












Joe Judice, top, amid cane he is growing in New Iberia, La., for Verenium ethanol research, a venture with BP.

JENNINGS, La. — For decades, the big oil companies and the farm lobby have been fighting about ethanol, with the farmers pushing to produce more of it and the refiners arguing it was a boondoggle that would do little to solve the country’s energy problems.

So why are technicians for BP, the giant oil company, now working at an experimental ethanol plant in this old Louisiana oil town, helping to make it more efficient?
The erstwhile enemies, it turns out, are gradually learning to get along, as refiners increasingly see a need to get involved in ethanol production. Ethanol, made chiefly from corn, now represents about 9 percent of the country’s market for liquid fuels. And the percentage is growing year after year because of federal mandates. With the nation’s thirst for gasoline, and the ethanol that is blended into it, expected to revive when the economy does, the oil companies want to be in a position to take full advantage.
The interest expressed by big oil companies is coming in the nick of time for small companies that desperately need capital and cannot find it these days in the private markets. Take the case of Verenium Corporation, a small company based in Cambridge, Mass., that here in Jennings is testing new forms of biofuels in alliance with BP. Instead of ethanol made from food crops, the partners are devising a version from grasses in the sugar cane family.
The experiments here are preparation for building a second, $250 million plant in Florida with the capacity to produce 36 million gallons a year of new biofuels — the first commercial plant of its type built with oil company money and expertise. Verenium scientists have already developed a secret sauce of enzymes and microbes that ferment and distill biomass into ethanol. Now BP is contributing technical expertise aimed at getting the temperatures and pressures in the vats just right.
Commercial success is not assured, of course. But the fact that a major oil company has even made an alliance to go commercial with Verenium is considered a breakthrough by many ethanol executives.
“Any time you get Big Oil into the game, that changes the paradigm because nobody can go large scale chemical engineering like Big Oil,” said Brent Erickson, an executive vice president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, a trade group.
Only two years ago, BP had only a minuscule investment in biofuels. But since then the company has committed $1.5 billion to various projects. Along with its work with Verenium, it entered a partnership with a Brazilian concern last year to produce ethanol from sugar cane.
Lessons learned in Louisiana may eventually help convert Brazilian cane into more advanced biofuels, researchers say, producing a potentially vast new reserve for BP.
BP also speaks with optimism about a partnership with DuPont to test production of biobutanol, an advanced liquid alcohol fuel that is made from the same feed stocks as advanced ethanols and is compatible with existing pipelines and car engines. Executives say they hope to begin making the fuel in large amounts by 2013.
“We can see biofuels as being a really big potential reservoir,” said Phil New, president of the company’s BP Biofuels unit. “For an energy firm to get into sugar cane farming is a pretty big move.”
Oil companies are still skeptical about conventional ethanol, especially the type made from corn, which they say corrodes pipelines and is inefficient.
The plant here is just one sign that the big oil companies are now at least grudgingly accepting biofuels — particularly those made from wastes and nonfood sources, which do not bear corn ethanol’s stigma of raising food prices.
The big change came in the 2007 energy law enacted by Congress that set ambitious mandates for refineries to blend increasing amounts of biofuels over the years. By 2022 they will be obliged to blend 36 billion gallons of biofuels, or more than three times current levels.
“If the government is going to make a market happen, we needed to be able to participate commercially in that market,” Mr. New said.
The oil companies also say that as crude oil becomes ever more difficult and expensive to find, biofuels can bolster their reserves.
“There will be a need for all these fuels,” said Graeme Sweeney, executive vice president for future fuels and carbon dioxide at Royal Dutch Shell. He predicted that the 1 percent of the world’s transportation fuels that are biofuels today “could easily be 10 percent in the next decade or so.”
Shell was the first of the big oil companies to venture significantly into the new biofuels, getting its toes wet in 2002 by providing money to a Canadian company called Iogen Corporation to research making ethanol from plant waste. Shell would not discuss how much money it is now investing in biofuels, but said it had quadrupled biofuel research spending since 2007.
Shell has also formed partnerships with a variety of small companies at work on improving enzymes that break down various plants and waste materials for ethanol, making fuels from algae and even biogasoline from sugary liquids derived from plant materials. Chevron has formed a joint venture with Weyerhaeuser to develop biofuels from wood waste.


And Valero Energy Corporation, the country’s largest petroleum refiner, has snapped up seven corn ethanol plants from VeraSun Energy in recent months since VeraSun filed for bankruptcy protection last fall. Valero has suggested that it could transform the plants for newer blends of ethanol.

Each initiative is still small compared with the companies’ multibillion-dollar oil exploration and refining budgets, prompting skeptics to say they are more interested in improving their image than producing clean fuels.
“If we depend too heavily on the big oil companies to drive the biofuel agenda,” warned Jeff Broin, chief executive of the ethanol producer Poet, “we’ll be using large volumes of oil for many, many years to come.”
But taken together, the research projects and deals are a sharp contrast to the scaled-back oil company projects in other alternative energy sources like hydrogen and solar. And the support is welcome for small entrepreneurial companies that are long on new technologies and short on capital.
“With any start-up company, people say ‘Wow, but is it going to work?’ ” said Randy Cortright, founder and chief technical officer of Virent Energy Systems. His company wants to make a biogasoline from plant sugars that is chemically similar to gasoline produced by conventional petroleum refineries.
He said Shell’s investment raised his company’s credibility with lenders “by giving their vote of confidence in this technology, spending resources and providing their own people for development.” Shell also will eventually distribute the product, he said, “and they already have the infrastructure for taking the product to the fuel pump so the consumer can use it.”
Arnold R. Klann, chief executive of BlueFire Ethanol, a company that converts municipal waste into ethanol and is seeking financing to build plants, said lenders wanted to know that an ethanol company had credible long-term customers to generate revenues. He said he had draft contracts with two major oil companies he could not yet identify that wanted to invest in his operations and use his fuels.
“There is tremendous interest by the oil companies to invest in these first-of-a-kind projects,” Mr. Klann said. “Where they were initially investing very tentatively in new technology development, in the last year they have begun to finally invest in companies that are building commercial production facilities.”
In Jennings, BP technicians advise Verenium technicians on what types of metals to use to line their pipes, what kind of valves will last longest and how to position blades in fermenting tanks to best mix chemicals and feed stocks. It is all an effort to reduce the price of the product to quickly compete with conventional ethanol and perhaps, eventually, with gasoline.
“We are the chef, and they are more like the restaurant manager,” said Mark G. Eichenseer, Verenium’s vice president for operations. “We have the recipes, and they have the experience and know-how to select the pots and pans.”

Big Oil Warms to Ethanol












Joe Judice, top, amid cane he is growing in New Iberia, La., for Verenium ethanol research, a venture with BP.

JENNINGS, La. — For decades, the big oil companies and the farm lobby have been fighting about ethanol, with the farmers pushing to produce more of it and the refiners arguing it was a boondoggle that would do little to solve the country’s energy problems.

So why are technicians for BP, the giant oil company, now working at an experimental ethanol plant in this old Louisiana oil town, helping to make it more efficient?
The erstwhile enemies, it turns out, are gradually learning to get along, as refiners increasingly see a need to get involved in ethanol production. Ethanol, made chiefly from corn, now represents about 9 percent of the country’s market for liquid fuels. And the percentage is growing year after year because of federal mandates. With the nation’s thirst for gasoline, and the ethanol that is blended into it, expected to revive when the economy does, the oil companies want to be in a position to take full advantage.
The interest expressed by big oil companies is coming in the nick of time for small companies that desperately need capital and cannot find it these days in the private markets. Take the case of Verenium Corporation, a small company based in Cambridge, Mass., that here in Jennings is testing new forms of biofuels in alliance with BP. Instead of ethanol made from food crops, the partners are devising a version from grasses in the sugar cane family.
The experiments here are preparation for building a second, $250 million plant in Florida with the capacity to produce 36 million gallons a year of new biofuels — the first commercial plant of its type built with oil company money and expertise. Verenium scientists have already developed a secret sauce of enzymes and microbes that ferment and distill biomass into ethanol. Now BP is contributing technical expertise aimed at getting the temperatures and pressures in the vats just right.
Commercial success is not assured, of course. But the fact that a major oil company has even made an alliance to go commercial with Verenium is considered a breakthrough by many ethanol executives.
“Any time you get Big Oil into the game, that changes the paradigm because nobody can go large scale chemical engineering like Big Oil,” said Brent Erickson, an executive vice president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, a trade group.
Only two years ago, BP had only a minuscule investment in biofuels. But since then the company has committed $1.5 billion to various projects. Along with its work with Verenium, it entered a partnership with a Brazilian concern last year to produce ethanol from sugar cane.
Lessons learned in Louisiana may eventually help convert Brazilian cane into more advanced biofuels, researchers say, producing a potentially vast new reserve for BP.
BP also speaks with optimism about a partnership with DuPont to test production of biobutanol, an advanced liquid alcohol fuel that is made from the same feed stocks as advanced ethanols and is compatible with existing pipelines and car engines. Executives say they hope to begin making the fuel in large amounts by 2013.
“We can see biofuels as being a really big potential reservoir,” said Phil New, president of the company’s BP Biofuels unit. “For an energy firm to get into sugar cane farming is a pretty big move.”
Oil companies are still skeptical about conventional ethanol, especially the type made from corn, which they say corrodes pipelines and is inefficient.
The plant here is just one sign that the big oil companies are now at least grudgingly accepting biofuels — particularly those made from wastes and nonfood sources, which do not bear corn ethanol’s stigma of raising food prices.
The big change came in the 2007 energy law enacted by Congress that set ambitious mandates for refineries to blend increasing amounts of biofuels over the years. By 2022 they will be obliged to blend 36 billion gallons of biofuels, or more than three times current levels.
“If the government is going to make a market happen, we needed to be able to participate commercially in that market,” Mr. New said.
The oil companies also say that as crude oil becomes ever more difficult and expensive to find, biofuels can bolster their reserves.
“There will be a need for all these fuels,” said Graeme Sweeney, executive vice president for future fuels and carbon dioxide at Royal Dutch Shell. He predicted that the 1 percent of the world’s transportation fuels that are biofuels today “could easily be 10 percent in the next decade or so.”
Shell was the first of the big oil companies to venture significantly into the new biofuels, getting its toes wet in 2002 by providing money to a Canadian company called Iogen Corporation to research making ethanol from plant waste. Shell would not discuss how much money it is now investing in biofuels, but said it had quadrupled biofuel research spending since 2007.
Shell has also formed partnerships with a variety of small companies at work on improving enzymes that break down various plants and waste materials for ethanol, making fuels from algae and even biogasoline from sugary liquids derived from plant materials. Chevron has formed a joint venture with Weyerhaeuser to develop biofuels from wood waste.


And Valero Energy Corporation, the country’s largest petroleum refiner, has snapped up seven corn ethanol plants from VeraSun Energy in recent months since VeraSun filed for bankruptcy protection last fall. Valero has suggested that it could transform the plants for newer blends of ethanol.

Each initiative is still small compared with the companies’ multibillion-dollar oil exploration and refining budgets, prompting skeptics to say they are more interested in improving their image than producing clean fuels.
“If we depend too heavily on the big oil companies to drive the biofuel agenda,” warned Jeff Broin, chief executive of the ethanol producer Poet, “we’ll be using large volumes of oil for many, many years to come.”
But taken together, the research projects and deals are a sharp contrast to the scaled-back oil company projects in other alternative energy sources like hydrogen and solar. And the support is welcome for small entrepreneurial companies that are long on new technologies and short on capital.
“With any start-up company, people say ‘Wow, but is it going to work?’ ” said Randy Cortright, founder and chief technical officer of Virent Energy Systems. His company wants to make a biogasoline from plant sugars that is chemically similar to gasoline produced by conventional petroleum refineries.
He said Shell’s investment raised his company’s credibility with lenders “by giving their vote of confidence in this technology, spending resources and providing their own people for development.” Shell also will eventually distribute the product, he said, “and they already have the infrastructure for taking the product to the fuel pump so the consumer can use it.”
Arnold R. Klann, chief executive of BlueFire Ethanol, a company that converts municipal waste into ethanol and is seeking financing to build plants, said lenders wanted to know that an ethanol company had credible long-term customers to generate revenues. He said he had draft contracts with two major oil companies he could not yet identify that wanted to invest in his operations and use his fuels.
“There is tremendous interest by the oil companies to invest in these first-of-a-kind projects,” Mr. Klann said. “Where they were initially investing very tentatively in new technology development, in the last year they have begun to finally invest in companies that are building commercial production facilities.”
In Jennings, BP technicians advise Verenium technicians on what types of metals to use to line their pipes, what kind of valves will last longest and how to position blades in fermenting tanks to best mix chemicals and feed stocks. It is all an effort to reduce the price of the product to quickly compete with conventional ethanol and perhaps, eventually, with gasoline.
“We are the chef, and they are more like the restaurant manager,” said Mark G. Eichenseer, Verenium’s vice president for operations. “We have the recipes, and they have the experience and know-how to select the pots and pans.”

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Há 30 anos, Fiat lançava o 147, o 1º carro a etanol no Brasil













Foram vendidas 120,5 mil unidades

José Luiz de Ornelas Carvalho foi levado da maternidade onde nasceu, em São Paulo, para casa em um Fiat 147 que o pai tinha. O modelo, em diversas versões, continuou fazendo parte da vida do técnico em eletrônica, hoje com 19 anos. "Foi em um deles que aprendi a dirigir."E é um Fiat 147 a álcool, ano 1986, o automóvel de Carvalho, adquirido há um ano e meio. "Me apaixonei pelo carro, assim como meu pai", afirma. José Luiz Gomes Carvalho, o pai, teve diversos veículos, mas mantém o seu 147, agora como colecionador. O modelo, também a álcool, atualmente está na oficina passando por reforma.O compacto 147 foi o primeiro carro 100% movido a álcool lançado no Brasil. As primeiras unidades começaram a ser vendidas em julho de 1979, pouco depois que os postos de combustível do País começaram a instalar bombas para fornecer o inédito combustível da cana-de-açúcar.Na época, não faltaram críticas ao veículo, também o primeiro carro produzido pela italiana Fiat no País. Era preciso ligar o carro antecipadamente até o motor esquentar, problema que se repetiu nas versões lançadas depois pelas concorrentes Ford, GM e Volkswagen.Carvalho informa que hoje deixa o motor ligado "apenas uns quatro minutos antes de sair, para esquentar." Outra reclamação era de o câmbio ser duro demais. "Isso é lenda", defende Carvalho. De 1979 a 1987, a Fiat vendeu 536.591 unidades do 147, das quais 120.516 a álcool. O modelo tem um grupo de aficionados que criaram o Clube 147. Após a reviravolta que o mercado brasileiro teve no fim dos anos 80, quando o carro a álcool quase foi banido da história do setor automotivo, o uso do combustível renasceu com o lançamento, em 2003, dos modelos flex, com motores que aceitam gasolina ou álcool.Hoje, quase 88% dos automóveis vendidos no mercado brasileiro são flex e pesquisas feitas por montadoras indicam que a maioria dos consumidores abastece o tanque com álcool, por ter preço mais competitivo que a gasolina. De acordo com a Associação Nacional dos Fabricantes de Veículos Automotores (Anfavea), desde março de 2003 até abril deste ano foram vendidos 6,95 milhões de veículos flex, o equivalente a cerca de um quarto da frota circulante do País.

Há 30 anos, Fiat lançava o 147, o 1º carro a etanol no Brasil













Foram vendidas 120,5 mil unidades

José Luiz de Ornelas Carvalho foi levado da maternidade onde nasceu, em São Paulo, para casa em um Fiat 147 que o pai tinha. O modelo, em diversas versões, continuou fazendo parte da vida do técnico em eletrônica, hoje com 19 anos. "Foi em um deles que aprendi a dirigir."E é um Fiat 147 a álcool, ano 1986, o automóvel de Carvalho, adquirido há um ano e meio. "Me apaixonei pelo carro, assim como meu pai", afirma. José Luiz Gomes Carvalho, o pai, teve diversos veículos, mas mantém o seu 147, agora como colecionador. O modelo, também a álcool, atualmente está na oficina passando por reforma.O compacto 147 foi o primeiro carro 100% movido a álcool lançado no Brasil. As primeiras unidades começaram a ser vendidas em julho de 1979, pouco depois que os postos de combustível do País começaram a instalar bombas para fornecer o inédito combustível da cana-de-açúcar.Na época, não faltaram críticas ao veículo, também o primeiro carro produzido pela italiana Fiat no País. Era preciso ligar o carro antecipadamente até o motor esquentar, problema que se repetiu nas versões lançadas depois pelas concorrentes Ford, GM e Volkswagen.Carvalho informa que hoje deixa o motor ligado "apenas uns quatro minutos antes de sair, para esquentar." Outra reclamação era de o câmbio ser duro demais. "Isso é lenda", defende Carvalho. De 1979 a 1987, a Fiat vendeu 536.591 unidades do 147, das quais 120.516 a álcool. O modelo tem um grupo de aficionados que criaram o Clube 147. Após a reviravolta que o mercado brasileiro teve no fim dos anos 80, quando o carro a álcool quase foi banido da história do setor automotivo, o uso do combustível renasceu com o lançamento, em 2003, dos modelos flex, com motores que aceitam gasolina ou álcool.Hoje, quase 88% dos automóveis vendidos no mercado brasileiro são flex e pesquisas feitas por montadoras indicam que a maioria dos consumidores abastece o tanque com álcool, por ter preço mais competitivo que a gasolina. De acordo com a Associação Nacional dos Fabricantes de Veículos Automotores (Anfavea), desde março de 2003 até abril deste ano foram vendidos 6,95 milhões de veículos flex, o equivalente a cerca de um quarto da frota circulante do País.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Future of Biofuels Expected to Remain Bright




SALAMANCA, SPAIN — Only a year ago, biofuels were blamed for soaring prices of vital food commodities like corn, wheat, sugar and vegetable oils. Riots in more than 30 countries and warnings from environmental groups, governments, the United Nations and the World Bank triggered a global debate over public support for the expanding biofuel industry.
Then, as credit dried up and the global recession took hold, the burgeoning industry imploded — which at least silenced the outcry. Commodity prices tumbled even faster than crude oil as global fuel demand evaporated. The bursting of the biofuel bubble left dozens of plants idle and forced some of the biggest names in the industry to file for bankruptcy.
Among the casualties, the biggest ethanol plant in Spain halted production in September 2007, barely a year after starting operations. Jointly owned by a unit of Abengoa, a Spanish company that is one of the top biofuel producers in the world, and Ebro Puleva, a food-processing company, the €150 million, or $200 million, distillery, with an annual capacity of 200 million liters, or 50 million gallons, stood idle for 11 months amid cereal fields in the flatlands near Salamanca, about 220 kilometers, or 140 miles, northwest of Madrid.
Production resumed only in August 2008, as cereal prices dropped from their record highs and the Spanish government mandated compulsory blending requirements for transport fuel — a law that took effect at the start of the year.
Despite last year’s setback, Javier Salgado, chairman of the plant’s operator, Abengoa Energia, is optimistic for the future.
“We have the fortune of working in a European regulated market,” Mr. Salgado said. “We are living a crisis; it’s hard; we are under cost control; but the horizon is one of growth. I can envision in 10 years that Europe’s ethanol market will multiply by five, by four in Brazil, and triple in the U.S.”
Abengoa, the biggest ethanol producer in Europe — and a recent entrant to the biodiesel business — has a global annual fuel production capacity of 1.9 billion liters, with another 1.15 billion liters under construction. It is currently building the biggest ethanol plant in continental Europe, in the Netherlands. The European Union has set a 2020 target of supplying 10 percent of its transportation needs with renewable sources, which includes biofuels.
Industry analysts and producer companies say they expect government policies to continue to underpin biofuels expansion. Despite that, commodity prices should stay low for much of this year, depressed by the economic crisis; but next year, if global energy demand recovers along with the economy, there could be a repeat of last year’s spike in global food prices.
Less than 5 percent of world cereal production will go to biofuels this season, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. But that share is expected to rise steadily, at least until technology to process alternative raw materials is deployed on a global scale, a distant prospect.
Rising biofuel use, together with surging human and animal consumption, will continue to put pressure on global food supplies, mostly because cereal production is not keeping up with demand. “There is not enough money being devoted to agriculture. Long-term trends are pretty dire,” said Francisco Blanch, head commodity analyst for Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, in London. “We are setting ourselves up for another big rally.
“Prices are set by marginal changes in supply; biofuels are still biting into overall agricultural production, and there is a risk of another price spike in as little as a year. All we need is a bad crop.”
The ratio of world grain stocks to consumption — a measure of spare food capacity — is likely to remain historically low through 2010 and beyond, at around half its level at the start of the century, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the United Nations.

Future of Biofuels Expected to Remain Bright




SALAMANCA, SPAIN — Only a year ago, biofuels were blamed for soaring prices of vital food commodities like corn, wheat, sugar and vegetable oils. Riots in more than 30 countries and warnings from environmental groups, governments, the United Nations and the World Bank triggered a global debate over public support for the expanding biofuel industry.
Then, as credit dried up and the global recession took hold, the burgeoning industry imploded — which at least silenced the outcry. Commodity prices tumbled even faster than crude oil as global fuel demand evaporated. The bursting of the biofuel bubble left dozens of plants idle and forced some of the biggest names in the industry to file for bankruptcy.
Among the casualties, the biggest ethanol plant in Spain halted production in September 2007, barely a year after starting operations. Jointly owned by a unit of Abengoa, a Spanish company that is one of the top biofuel producers in the world, and Ebro Puleva, a food-processing company, the €150 million, or $200 million, distillery, with an annual capacity of 200 million liters, or 50 million gallons, stood idle for 11 months amid cereal fields in the flatlands near Salamanca, about 220 kilometers, or 140 miles, northwest of Madrid.
Production resumed only in August 2008, as cereal prices dropped from their record highs and the Spanish government mandated compulsory blending requirements for transport fuel — a law that took effect at the start of the year.
Despite last year’s setback, Javier Salgado, chairman of the plant’s operator, Abengoa Energia, is optimistic for the future.
“We have the fortune of working in a European regulated market,” Mr. Salgado said. “We are living a crisis; it’s hard; we are under cost control; but the horizon is one of growth. I can envision in 10 years that Europe’s ethanol market will multiply by five, by four in Brazil, and triple in the U.S.”
Abengoa, the biggest ethanol producer in Europe — and a recent entrant to the biodiesel business — has a global annual fuel production capacity of 1.9 billion liters, with another 1.15 billion liters under construction. It is currently building the biggest ethanol plant in continental Europe, in the Netherlands. The European Union has set a 2020 target of supplying 10 percent of its transportation needs with renewable sources, which includes biofuels.
Industry analysts and producer companies say they expect government policies to continue to underpin biofuels expansion. Despite that, commodity prices should stay low for much of this year, depressed by the economic crisis; but next year, if global energy demand recovers along with the economy, there could be a repeat of last year’s spike in global food prices.
Less than 5 percent of world cereal production will go to biofuels this season, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. But that share is expected to rise steadily, at least until technology to process alternative raw materials is deployed on a global scale, a distant prospect.
Rising biofuel use, together with surging human and animal consumption, will continue to put pressure on global food supplies, mostly because cereal production is not keeping up with demand. “There is not enough money being devoted to agriculture. Long-term trends are pretty dire,” said Francisco Blanch, head commodity analyst for Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, in London. “We are setting ourselves up for another big rally.
“Prices are set by marginal changes in supply; biofuels are still biting into overall agricultural production, and there is a risk of another price spike in as little as a year. All we need is a bad crop.”
The ratio of world grain stocks to consumption — a measure of spare food capacity — is likely to remain historically low through 2010 and beyond, at around half its level at the start of the century, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the United Nations.

Jatropha for biofuel to be grown in Morocco


An Italian bioenergy consultancy company, Agroils, who is cultivating 10,000 hectares of jatropha in Ghana for the production of biofuels, have announced that they will be looking to expand their test crop in Morocco. According to a number of reports, Agroils is also investing in the cultivation of jatropha in four African countries - Morocco, Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon. Agroils’ Business Development Manager, Giovanni Venturini Del Greco, said at an energy conference last week, that the company aims at producing 100,000 tonnes of biofuel from the jatropha plant in 2018 in these countries where it works with local farmers. The project in Morocco is small at the moment - some 200-hectares - in a desert in Morocco The company started the cultivation in 2008, the report said.

Jatropha for biofuel to be grown in Morocco


An Italian bioenergy consultancy company, Agroils, who is cultivating 10,000 hectares of jatropha in Ghana for the production of biofuels, have announced that they will be looking to expand their test crop in Morocco. According to a number of reports, Agroils is also investing in the cultivation of jatropha in four African countries - Morocco, Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon. Agroils’ Business Development Manager, Giovanni Venturini Del Greco, said at an energy conference last week, that the company aims at producing 100,000 tonnes of biofuel from the jatropha plant in 2018 in these countries where it works with local farmers. The project in Morocco is small at the moment - some 200-hectares - in a desert in Morocco The company started the cultivation in 2008, the report said.

Zimbabwe expands jatropha plantations to step up biodiesel output


Zimbabwe was aiming to produce biodiesel from jatropha to substitute about 10% of its imported fuels by 2017, which National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim) biofuels programme manager Abisai Mushaka said would be about 100-million litres of biodiesel a year.

The company was targeting to eventually plant about 120 000 ha/y of jatropha plantations to produce the biodiesel.

Since December last year, Zimbabwean farmers had planted about 1,5-million jatropha plants a week. Noczim was hoping to double this to about three-million plants a week. This would equate to about 50 000 ha/y of plantations, which would allow Zimbabwe to reach its 10% target by 2015.

The plantations were mostly being planted in the arid and semi-arid regions of the country, mostly on a small-scale basis.

A 35-million litre a year biodiesel plant had been commissioned at the end of 2007 to produce the fuel.

However, Mushaka noted that some key elements were still needed to ensure the sustainability of the programme.

The company was hoping to eventually establish large central estates for the planting of crops, as well as a number of smaller processing plants.

Zimbabwe expands jatropha plantations to step up biodiesel output


Zimbabwe was aiming to produce biodiesel from jatropha to substitute about 10% of its imported fuels by 2017, which National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim) biofuels programme manager Abisai Mushaka said would be about 100-million litres of biodiesel a year.

The company was targeting to eventually plant about 120 000 ha/y of jatropha plantations to produce the biodiesel.

Since December last year, Zimbabwean farmers had planted about 1,5-million jatropha plants a week. Noczim was hoping to double this to about three-million plants a week. This would equate to about 50 000 ha/y of plantations, which would allow Zimbabwe to reach its 10% target by 2015.

The plantations were mostly being planted in the arid and semi-arid regions of the country, mostly on a small-scale basis.

A 35-million litre a year biodiesel plant had been commissioned at the end of 2007 to produce the fuel.

However, Mushaka noted that some key elements were still needed to ensure the sustainability of the programme.

The company was hoping to eventually establish large central estates for the planting of crops, as well as a number of smaller processing plants.

Getting Ethanol Right


Representative Collin Peterson is furious that the Environmental Protection Agency is doing its job. The Minnesota Democrat says the agency is trying to kill off the biofuels industry — to the dismay of the corn farmers and ethanol producers he represents. He has vowed to vote against any bill, including climate change legislation, that might require the involvement of the E.P.A.

What inspired this tirade was an E.P.A. draft proposal showing how it intended to measure the greenhouse gas emissions from corn ethanol and other renewable fuels. The agency said it will not make any final rules until it completes further research, but its preliminary findings were not flattering to corn ethanol.

The E.P.A. was only doing what Congress ordered in the 2007 energy bill, which required a quadrupling of annual ethanol production to 36 billion gallons by 2022. In practical terms, this meant more traditional corn ethanol, until other more advanced forms of ethanol could make their way out of the labs. Scientists believe that various grasses and scrub trees that do not compete with food crops can someday be turned into fuel.

Congress hoped the ethanol mandate would produce a more climate-friendly fuel that could help reduce oil imports. But just to make sure, it stipulated that ethanol from any source be cleaner than conventional gasoline. It handed the job of measuring emissions to the E.P.A., and told it to consider the fuel’s entire life cycle.

This included counting the greenhouse gases released when forests or grasslands are plowed under and planted to make up for the crops used to make ethanol. When the E.P.A.’s scientists counted these indirect effects, corn ethanol emitted more greenhouse gases than gasoline over a 30-year period.

The E.P.A. says its analysis needs refinement, and in any case the 2007 bill grandfathers in existing corn ethanol plants or those under construction. That means there will not be any reduction in corn ethanol production; indeed, there could be more. Mr. Peterson and his farm bill colleagues are still steamed, because any adverse finding diminishes corn ethanol’s appeal.

Lisa Jackson, the E.P.A. administrator, can expect heavy pressure in the months ahead. The ethanol industry and its Congressional champions will argue that the science is unclear, that indirect effects cannot be measured accurately, and so on.

Ms. Jackson should stand her ground. Biofuels have an important role to play, and some will eventually be produced without pushing up food prices or increasing emissions. It is the E.P.A.’s duty to give the most unbiased accounting it can of their strengths and defects.

Getting Ethanol Right


Representative Collin Peterson is furious that the Environmental Protection Agency is doing its job. The Minnesota Democrat says the agency is trying to kill off the biofuels industry — to the dismay of the corn farmers and ethanol producers he represents. He has vowed to vote against any bill, including climate change legislation, that might require the involvement of the E.P.A.

What inspired this tirade was an E.P.A. draft proposal showing how it intended to measure the greenhouse gas emissions from corn ethanol and other renewable fuels. The agency said it will not make any final rules until it completes further research, but its preliminary findings were not flattering to corn ethanol.

The E.P.A. was only doing what Congress ordered in the 2007 energy bill, which required a quadrupling of annual ethanol production to 36 billion gallons by 2022. In practical terms, this meant more traditional corn ethanol, until other more advanced forms of ethanol could make their way out of the labs. Scientists believe that various grasses and scrub trees that do not compete with food crops can someday be turned into fuel.

Congress hoped the ethanol mandate would produce a more climate-friendly fuel that could help reduce oil imports. But just to make sure, it stipulated that ethanol from any source be cleaner than conventional gasoline. It handed the job of measuring emissions to the E.P.A., and told it to consider the fuel’s entire life cycle.

This included counting the greenhouse gases released when forests or grasslands are plowed under and planted to make up for the crops used to make ethanol. When the E.P.A.’s scientists counted these indirect effects, corn ethanol emitted more greenhouse gases than gasoline over a 30-year period.

The E.P.A. says its analysis needs refinement, and in any case the 2007 bill grandfathers in existing corn ethanol plants or those under construction. That means there will not be any reduction in corn ethanol production; indeed, there could be more. Mr. Peterson and his farm bill colleagues are still steamed, because any adverse finding diminishes corn ethanol’s appeal.

Lisa Jackson, the E.P.A. administrator, can expect heavy pressure in the months ahead. The ethanol industry and its Congressional champions will argue that the science is unclear, that indirect effects cannot be measured accurately, and so on.

Ms. Jackson should stand her ground. Biofuels have an important role to play, and some will eventually be produced without pushing up food prices or increasing emissions. It is the E.P.A.’s duty to give the most unbiased accounting it can of their strengths and defects.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Usina aumentará capacidade produtiva de PHB



Transformar açúcar em polihidroxibutirato (PHB), um plástico biodegradável, por meio de um conceito renovável e sustentável, é a proposta da PHB Industrial, sediada em Serrana, no interior do Estado de São Paulo. O processo vem sendo executado numa planta piloto na Usina da Pedra desde 2000, mas agora há planos para alçar vôos maiores.
O diretor executivo da PHB, Sylvio Ortega Filho, disse que a atual capacidade de produção de 50 toneladas/ano de PHB deverá crescer para 36 mil toneladas/ano nos próximos dois anos. Da produção total, apenas 5% ficará no mercado interno e o restante será exportado para Europa, Estados Unidos e alguns países da Ásia, como o Japão.
“Tem um ponto crucial que é diferente dos demais. Nossa matéria-prima é o açúcar, não álcool ou etanol. É um processo de biotecnologia. Transformamos o açúcar e fazemos o PHD”, diz Ortega Filho. “Temos produto biodegradável, compostável e certificado por certificadores europeus acreditados.”
O executivo, que participará do Ethanol Summit 2009, pretende demonstrar a variedade de produtos e aplicações possíveis a partir do PHB, durante o painel “Plásticos Verdes: Nova Fronteira para o Etanol”, dia 2 de junho, às 10h15. No painel participará também o presidente da Braskem, Bernardo Gradin, e o diretor comercial plásticos da DOW, Diego Donoso, com moderação de Marco Aurélio Pinheiro Lima.
Ortega Filho destaca algumas técnicas em que a aplicação do PBH tem bons resultados. Uma delas é a injeção (tampa da garrafa pet é injetada e feita de polipropileno). Já existe também polímero biodegradável para fazer garrafa. Outra técnica é a termoformagem, para fazer embalagens de alimentação; e também fazer extrusão de chapas e de fibras para atender a indústria automobilística (espelho retrovisor, painéis de carros etc.).
O PHB serve ainda para substituição de poliuretanas biodegradáveis (faz espuma que substitui o isopor) e produtos de elastômeros. A produção de PHB consome somente 10% da energia não renovável usada no processo de produção do PP. As fontes de energia renováveis usadas no processo de produção do PHB incluem a cana-de-açúcar, o açúcar o solvente e todas utilidades, explica o executivo.

Usina aumentará capacidade produtiva de PHB



Transformar açúcar em polihidroxibutirato (PHB), um plástico biodegradável, por meio de um conceito renovável e sustentável, é a proposta da PHB Industrial, sediada em Serrana, no interior do Estado de São Paulo. O processo vem sendo executado numa planta piloto na Usina da Pedra desde 2000, mas agora há planos para alçar vôos maiores.
O diretor executivo da PHB, Sylvio Ortega Filho, disse que a atual capacidade de produção de 50 toneladas/ano de PHB deverá crescer para 36 mil toneladas/ano nos próximos dois anos. Da produção total, apenas 5% ficará no mercado interno e o restante será exportado para Europa, Estados Unidos e alguns países da Ásia, como o Japão.
“Tem um ponto crucial que é diferente dos demais. Nossa matéria-prima é o açúcar, não álcool ou etanol. É um processo de biotecnologia. Transformamos o açúcar e fazemos o PHD”, diz Ortega Filho. “Temos produto biodegradável, compostável e certificado por certificadores europeus acreditados.”
O executivo, que participará do Ethanol Summit 2009, pretende demonstrar a variedade de produtos e aplicações possíveis a partir do PHB, durante o painel “Plásticos Verdes: Nova Fronteira para o Etanol”, dia 2 de junho, às 10h15. No painel participará também o presidente da Braskem, Bernardo Gradin, e o diretor comercial plásticos da DOW, Diego Donoso, com moderação de Marco Aurélio Pinheiro Lima.
Ortega Filho destaca algumas técnicas em que a aplicação do PBH tem bons resultados. Uma delas é a injeção (tampa da garrafa pet é injetada e feita de polipropileno). Já existe também polímero biodegradável para fazer garrafa. Outra técnica é a termoformagem, para fazer embalagens de alimentação; e também fazer extrusão de chapas e de fibras para atender a indústria automobilística (espelho retrovisor, painéis de carros etc.).
O PHB serve ainda para substituição de poliuretanas biodegradáveis (faz espuma que substitui o isopor) e produtos de elastômeros. A produção de PHB consome somente 10% da energia não renovável usada no processo de produção do PP. As fontes de energia renováveis usadas no processo de produção do PHB incluem a cana-de-açúcar, o açúcar o solvente e todas utilidades, explica o executivo.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Físico prevê declínio do petróleo a partir de 2013.


ProCana.com, em 21/05/2009.

A capacidade produtiva de petróleo no mundo não conseguirá acompanhar o aumento da demanda e entrará em declínio a partir de 2013. É o que defende o físico sueco Kjell Aleklett, um dos palestrantes Ethanol Summit 2009, que acontece de 1º a 3 de junho, no Sheraton WTC Hotel, em São Paulo, SP.

Aleklett integra um grupo de cientistas que realiza projeções sobre os preços futuros do petróleo. É dele a expressão “Peak Oil” que determina o período em que a capacidade máxima mundial de produção de petróleo está atingida.

Segundo o físico, depois disso, a capacidade de extrair petróleo tende apenas a cair, causando um maior desequilíbrio entre oferta e demanda e elevando ainda mais o preço do barril. Aleklett é professor do Departamento de Física, Astronomia e Sistemas Globais de Energia, da Uppsala University, da Suécia.

Físico prevê declínio do petróleo a partir de 2013.


ProCana.com, em 21/05/2009.

A capacidade produtiva de petróleo no mundo não conseguirá acompanhar o aumento da demanda e entrará em declínio a partir de 2013. É o que defende o físico sueco Kjell Aleklett, um dos palestrantes Ethanol Summit 2009, que acontece de 1º a 3 de junho, no Sheraton WTC Hotel, em São Paulo, SP.

Aleklett integra um grupo de cientistas que realiza projeções sobre os preços futuros do petróleo. É dele a expressão “Peak Oil” que determina o período em que a capacidade máxima mundial de produção de petróleo está atingida.

Segundo o físico, depois disso, a capacidade de extrair petróleo tende apenas a cair, causando um maior desequilíbrio entre oferta e demanda e elevando ainda mais o preço do barril. Aleklett é professor do Departamento de Física, Astronomia e Sistemas Globais de Energia, da Uppsala University, da Suécia.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Ex-Presidente dos EUA, Bill Clinton, será um dos palestrantes do Ethanol Summit 2009


O 42º presidente dos Estados Unidos, Bill Clinton, participará como palestrante da segunda edição do Ethanol Summit, um dos principais eventos focados em biocombustíveis do mundo. Organizado pela União da Indústria de Cana-de-Açúcar (UNICA), o encontro acontece de 1 a 3 de junho de 2009 em São Paulo.

William Jefferson Clinton foi eleito presidente dos Estados Unidos em 1992 e novamente em 1996, o primeiro presidente do partido Democrata americano a conseguir a reeleição em mais de seis décadas. Após deixar a Casa Branca, ele estabeleceu a Fundação William J. Clinton, com a missão de fomentar a capacidade de pessoas nos EUA e em outras partes do mundo a enfrentarem os desafios da interdependência global. Hoje, a fundação conta com mais de 1.400 colaboradores e voluntários ao redor do mundo, trabalhando para melhorar vidas através de diversas iniciativas.

Uma delas é a Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, que hoje auxilia 2 milhões de pessoas que vivem com o HIV/AIDS para que tenham acesso a medicamentos vitais para sua sobrevivência. Outras iniciativas, como a Clinton Climate Initiative, the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative e the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, utilizam critérios do mundo dos negócios em várias partes do mundo para enfrentar as mudanças climáticas e desenvolver o crescimento econômico sustentável na Africa e América Latina. Um dos projetos da Fundação Clinton, a Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) reúne lideres globais para desenvolver e implementar soluções inovadoras para alguns dos problemas mais graves do mundo.

Mais de 90 palestrantes de todos os continentes já estão confirmados para o Ethanol Summit, que será realizado no World Trade Center Hotel, na Zona Sul da capital paulista. O evento contará com 25 painéis de debate em cinco salas temáticas, três lançamentos de novas publicações e seis sessões plenárias, entre elas uma sessão especial produzida e moderada pela equipe da revista The Economist. Na manhã do dia 1 de junho, o Presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva será o palestrante principal da Cerimônia de Abertura, que terá ainda as participações do Governador de São Paulo, José Serra, do Prefeito Gilberto Kassab e de outras autoridades.

Ex-Presidente dos EUA, Bill Clinton, será um dos palestrantes do Ethanol Summit 2009


O 42º presidente dos Estados Unidos, Bill Clinton, participará como palestrante da segunda edição do Ethanol Summit, um dos principais eventos focados em biocombustíveis do mundo. Organizado pela União da Indústria de Cana-de-Açúcar (UNICA), o encontro acontece de 1 a 3 de junho de 2009 em São Paulo.

William Jefferson Clinton foi eleito presidente dos Estados Unidos em 1992 e novamente em 1996, o primeiro presidente do partido Democrata americano a conseguir a reeleição em mais de seis décadas. Após deixar a Casa Branca, ele estabeleceu a Fundação William J. Clinton, com a missão de fomentar a capacidade de pessoas nos EUA e em outras partes do mundo a enfrentarem os desafios da interdependência global. Hoje, a fundação conta com mais de 1.400 colaboradores e voluntários ao redor do mundo, trabalhando para melhorar vidas através de diversas iniciativas.

Uma delas é a Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, que hoje auxilia 2 milhões de pessoas que vivem com o HIV/AIDS para que tenham acesso a medicamentos vitais para sua sobrevivência. Outras iniciativas, como a Clinton Climate Initiative, the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative e the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, utilizam critérios do mundo dos negócios em várias partes do mundo para enfrentar as mudanças climáticas e desenvolver o crescimento econômico sustentável na Africa e América Latina. Um dos projetos da Fundação Clinton, a Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) reúne lideres globais para desenvolver e implementar soluções inovadoras para alguns dos problemas mais graves do mundo.

Mais de 90 palestrantes de todos os continentes já estão confirmados para o Ethanol Summit, que será realizado no World Trade Center Hotel, na Zona Sul da capital paulista. O evento contará com 25 painéis de debate em cinco salas temáticas, três lançamentos de novas publicações e seis sessões plenárias, entre elas uma sessão especial produzida e moderada pela equipe da revista The Economist. Na manhã do dia 1 de junho, o Presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva será o palestrante principal da Cerimônia de Abertura, que terá ainda as participações do Governador de São Paulo, José Serra, do Prefeito Gilberto Kassab e de outras autoridades.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Diplomatas da União Européia elogiam processo de mecanização da colheita da cana

Curiosos, diplomatas conhecem colheitadeira de cana por dentro


Cinco cônsules da União Européia (UE) sediados no Brasil conheceram de perto a colheita mecanizada e manual de cana-de-açúcar na usina São João de Araras, localizada na cidade de São João de Araras (SP), em visita realizada nesta quarta-feira (22/04/2009). A empresa recebeu os representantes diplomáticos da Bélgica, Hungria, Alemanha, Holanda e República Tcheca, que visitaram a área agrícola da usina, onde 80% da cana já é colhida mecanicamente.

Para o cônsul da República Tcheca, Stanislav Kázecky, que promoveu a visita do grupo de europeus, a mecanização da lavoura da cana, que elimina a queima da palha, é positiva pois “iniciativas como esta são de grande valia para a continuidade e sucesso do negócio do etanol, cujo ponto chave está na questão ambiental, tão importante nos dias atuais”. Kázesky, cujo país de origem exerce a presidência rotativa da UE em 2009, acha que o modelo de produção desenvolvido na usina São João de Araras deve servir como exemplo para o setor sucroenergético mundial.

O tcheco classificou a visita como uma “rica experiência” para a delegação européia, descrevendo a experiência como uma “ótima oportunidade” para se conhecer in loco a realidade da fabricação de açúcar, etanol e geração de bioeletricidade no Brasil. O resultado da visita, segundo Kázecky, “poderá gerar um aprofundamento nas relações entre o setor e os países da União Européia”.

Acompanhados pelo presidente da usina São João de Araras e também conselheiro da UNICA, Hermínio Ometto, e da relações institucionais da UNICA, Carolina Costa, os europeus também demonstraram bastante interesse nas questões que envolvem barreiras tarifárias e não tarifárias impostas ao etanol brasileiro no exterior, principais obstáculos para que o produto se torne uma commodity global.
Cônsules observam processo de mecanização da colheita

Sobre o tema, Costa explicou que o etanol brasileiro preenche todos os requisitos para se tornar uma produto livre de cobranças alfandegárias. Entretanto, segundo a representante da UNICA, para que o etanol se torne uma commodity global, alguns países mais desenvolvidos precisam mudar a distorcida lógica tarifária aplicada, atualmente, no mercado de combustíveis em geral. Enquanto combustíveis limpos e renováveis são taxados com elevados tributos para serem comercializados em outros países, os de origem fóssil transitam livremente ao redor do mundo, sem quaisquer obstáculos tarifários ou outras barreiras comerciais. Com a eventual transformação do etanol de cana numa commodity global, 100 países em desenvolvimento que já produzem cana poderiam fornecer biocombustíveis para o mundo. No quadro atual, apenas 20 países produtores de petróleo atendem o mercado mundial.

Ao todo, a delegação européia foi composta pelos seguintes diplomatas sediados na cidade de São Paulo: Stanislav Kázecky, cônsul da República Tcheca, Peter Claes, cônsul Geral da Bélgica; Miklos Deak, cônsul Geral da Hungria; Thomas Schmitt, cônsul Geral Adjunto da Alemanha; e Louis Piet, cônsul Geral do Reino dos Países Baixos.

Diplomatas da União Européia elogiam processo de mecanização da colheita da cana

Curiosos, diplomatas conhecem colheitadeira de cana por dentro


Cinco cônsules da União Européia (UE) sediados no Brasil conheceram de perto a colheita mecanizada e manual de cana-de-açúcar na usina São João de Araras, localizada na cidade de São João de Araras (SP), em visita realizada nesta quarta-feira (22/04/2009). A empresa recebeu os representantes diplomáticos da Bélgica, Hungria, Alemanha, Holanda e República Tcheca, que visitaram a área agrícola da usina, onde 80% da cana já é colhida mecanicamente.

Para o cônsul da República Tcheca, Stanislav Kázecky, que promoveu a visita do grupo de europeus, a mecanização da lavoura da cana, que elimina a queima da palha, é positiva pois “iniciativas como esta são de grande valia para a continuidade e sucesso do negócio do etanol, cujo ponto chave está na questão ambiental, tão importante nos dias atuais”. Kázesky, cujo país de origem exerce a presidência rotativa da UE em 2009, acha que o modelo de produção desenvolvido na usina São João de Araras deve servir como exemplo para o setor sucroenergético mundial.

O tcheco classificou a visita como uma “rica experiência” para a delegação européia, descrevendo a experiência como uma “ótima oportunidade” para se conhecer in loco a realidade da fabricação de açúcar, etanol e geração de bioeletricidade no Brasil. O resultado da visita, segundo Kázecky, “poderá gerar um aprofundamento nas relações entre o setor e os países da União Européia”.

Acompanhados pelo presidente da usina São João de Araras e também conselheiro da UNICA, Hermínio Ometto, e da relações institucionais da UNICA, Carolina Costa, os europeus também demonstraram bastante interesse nas questões que envolvem barreiras tarifárias e não tarifárias impostas ao etanol brasileiro no exterior, principais obstáculos para que o produto se torne uma commodity global.
Cônsules observam processo de mecanização da colheita

Sobre o tema, Costa explicou que o etanol brasileiro preenche todos os requisitos para se tornar uma produto livre de cobranças alfandegárias. Entretanto, segundo a representante da UNICA, para que o etanol se torne uma commodity global, alguns países mais desenvolvidos precisam mudar a distorcida lógica tarifária aplicada, atualmente, no mercado de combustíveis em geral. Enquanto combustíveis limpos e renováveis são taxados com elevados tributos para serem comercializados em outros países, os de origem fóssil transitam livremente ao redor do mundo, sem quaisquer obstáculos tarifários ou outras barreiras comerciais. Com a eventual transformação do etanol de cana numa commodity global, 100 países em desenvolvimento que já produzem cana poderiam fornecer biocombustíveis para o mundo. No quadro atual, apenas 20 países produtores de petróleo atendem o mercado mundial.

Ao todo, a delegação européia foi composta pelos seguintes diplomatas sediados na cidade de São Paulo: Stanislav Kázecky, cônsul da República Tcheca, Peter Claes, cônsul Geral da Bélgica; Miklos Deak, cônsul Geral da Hungria; Thomas Schmitt, cônsul Geral Adjunto da Alemanha; e Louis Piet, cônsul Geral do Reino dos Países Baixos.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Two Billion Cars


Or, as the subtitle rather optimistically puts it, "Driving Towards Sustainability". Sounds a bit like tree-felling towards biodiversity. Well, there are already more than 1bn cars on the planet, and these authors, energy and transport mavens, see an inevitable rise (largely driven by China and India) to 2bn in a few decades. How to minimise their impact on the climate? The twin prongs of a solution are emerging alternative-transportation developments (such as Bus Rapid Transit, platoons of buses in dedicated lanes); and alternative fuel sources for cars, a field distorted in the US by subsidies for one of the worst options, corn ethanol.

Read Ethanol comments about Sugarcane (Ethanol without subsidies).

Massachusetts town grapples with sea rise after sand barrier fails - TheGardian

A sand dune erected to protect homes in Salisbury, Massachusetts, washed away in three days.  Photograph: WCVB Channel 5 Boston   A $500,000...