Basic Science and Technological Innovation in Bioenergy

Bioenergy: Pathway to a More Sustainable WorldThe worldwide demand for energy has grown in recent years due to factors such as the exponential increase of energy consumption in developing countries. At the same time, a large amount of recent scientific data emphasize the human influence on climate change. This scenario forces the expansion of energy supply through increased energy efficiency and use of renewable sources on a global scale.

Brazil stands out in this area by having one of the most virtuous examples of biofuel, ethanol from sugarcane, as well as the favorable climate to the agriculture of energy biomasses. In order to become a global scale producer of bioenergy, the country needs, primarily, robust investments in basic research and technological development in this production cycle.

The Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Laboratory (CTBE) develops high level R&D in the area of bioenergy, with the goal of increasing the Brazilian competitiveness in the sector of industrial production and conversion of biomasses into fuels (1st and 2nd generation), electricity and compounds derived from green chemistry. Researchers from Brazil and abroad find at CTBE, sophisticated open facilities, as well as instrumentation and qualified support for studies in the areas of production, characterization and processing of biomasses and derivatives, functional biology, biotechnology and biophysics. CTBE integrates the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), in Campinas-SP.

Infrastructure for Process Scale Up in Bioenergy

A major differential of the CTBE, is its Pilot Plant for Process Development (PPDP). This unique environment in Brazil allows the scale up of biomass conversion processes at a 300 liters scale to cellulosic ethanol and other products of industrial interest in a sugarcane biorefinery concept. The PPDP complements the work undertaken in the Process and Bioprocess Development, and Functional Biology, Biotechnology and Biophysics Laboratories, where experiments can be performed in a versatile manner in reactors and bioreactors from 500 mL to 20 L. The research facilities of the CTBE further harbor the Agricultural Prototypes Laboratory seeking innovations in the equipment area for the agriculture of sugarcane. Interested parties may submit proposals for research to be carried out in the Pilot Plant and Laboratories.

Relevant Research Projects

��/RZ�,PSDFW�0HFKDQL]DWLRQ� Development of a new system of agricultural management and equipment aiming to reduce by 80% machinery traffic on the sugarcane fields, besides preserving soil nutrients and saving fuel.

��9LUWXDO�6XJDUFDQH�%LRUHILQHU\��Implementation and improvement of a platform for technical, economic, environmental and social assessment of routes for biomasses utilization. This tool contributes to assess the success of projects and to define research priorities.

��(Q]\PH�6\VWHPV�IRU�%LRPDVV�&RQYHUVLRQ� "Omics" approaches (functional genomics, metagenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics) and high-performance technologies are combined for development of biotechnological routes for plant biomass conversion, and a better understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in lignocellulose conversion.

� 6XVWDLQDELOLW\� Assessment of the impacts from current production process, considering the ongoing changes (mainly technological innovations). Georeferenced database integrates information related to water resources, impacts on land use change and soil carbon storage and greenhouse gases emissions (GHG) among others.

Areas ofExpertise

The internal research agenda of the CTBE is focused on agricultural, industrial, technological assessment, sustainability and basic sicence areas of the biomass/bioproducts cycle.

Partnerships with the Private Sector

As part of its mission, CTBE aims at researching in partnership with companies which work in biomass for industrial applications sector, looking forward to transferring technologies to them as well. To that end, collaborations with the Laboratory can be done in several ways, as by joint research and development projects, infrastructure provisioning, material and technology transfer, commercial licenses and licenses for internal uses, human resources exchange and co-investments in high-risk projects. The success of the partnerships between CTBE and the productive sector is supported by the procedures that rule the Laboratory-Industry relationships in the following issues: legal security, intellectual property, confidentiality, exclusivity, development of policies, practices, procedures and training. Large companies from different industrial sectors work along with CTBE, including: Dow, Rhodia, BP, Eli Lilly / Elanco, DSM, GE, Embraer and Jacto.

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Address: Rua Giuseppe Máximo Scolfaro, 10000Polo II de Alta Tecnologia de Campinas

Bairro Guará - Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Address for Correspondence: Caixa Postal 6170CEP 13083-970, Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Phone: +55 19 3512-1010 - Fax: +55 19 3518-3164

ctbe.cnpem.br