CO 2 Emissions from Fuel Consumption in the Logistic Stages of the Brazilian Bioethanol Supply Chain

Daniela B. Bartholomeu, Celso J. R. Lopes and Hugo T. Y. Yoshizaki
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Daniela B. Bartholomeu: Logistics Systems Engineering-Escola Politécnica, University of São Paulo, Ave. Almeida Prado, Travessa 2, São Paulo 05508-900, Brazil
Celso J. R. Lopes: Logistics Systems Engineering-Escola Politécnica, University of São Paulo, Ave. Almeida Prado, Travessa 2, São Paulo 05508-900, Brazil
Hugo T. Y. Yoshizaki: Logistics Systems Engineering-Escola Politécnica, University of São Paulo, Ave. Almeida Prado, Travessa 2, São Paulo 05508-900, Brazil

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 23, 1-18

Abstract: The study reports the CO 2 emissions from diesel combustion in the following stages of the Brazilian ethanol supply chain: (a) agricultural operations (management), (b) sugarcane transportation to the mill, and (c) biofuel transportation to the destination. To assess the sensitivity of the results to different origins, five regions representative of ethanol production were selected, and the final destination was the port of Santos. The transportation stage from the mill to the port included the possible effects of using multimodal alternatives, such as road–rail and road–pipeline. The results indicate that diesel consumption varies greatly by region of origin, and agricultural management, such as tilling, planting, and harvesting operations, accounts for about 70% of total diesel emissions to the ethanol supply chain. Rail and pipeline transportation are ultimately important for mitigating emissions from fuel consumption in logistics corridors for exporting ethanol. It is a valuable contribution to supporting private actions and public policies related to the mitigation of emissions in the logistic stages of bioethanol, especially related to the optimization of the agricultural management process and improvement of the multimodal transport infrastructure, respectively. It is also a lesson to countries intending to produce ethanol from sugarcane.

Keywords: fuel consumption; CO 2 emissions; bioethanol supply chain; environmental sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:23:p:9979-:d:453268

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