Potentialities and Impacts of Biomass Energy in the Brazilian Northeast Region

• Published in: Energies (Basel) Vol. 16; no. 9; p. 3903
• Main Authors: Santos Júnior, Edvaldo Pereira, Silva, Elias Gabriel Magalhães, Sousa, Maria Helena de, Dutra, Emmanuel Damilano, Silva, Antonio Samuel Alves da, Sales, Aldo Torres, Sampaio, Everardo Valadares de Sa Barretto, Coelho Junior, Luiz Moreira, Menezes, Rômulo Simões Cezar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-05-2023
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Agricultural wastes; Alternative energy sources; Animal wastes; Area planning & development; Arid climates; Biodiesel fuels; bioeconomy; bioenergy; Biofuels; Biomass; biomass emissions; Biomass energy; Biomass energy production; biomass resources; Brazil; Cacti; Centuries; Charcoal; Coastal zone; Coasts; Crop residues; Dry forests; Economic activity; Economic growth; Emissions; Energy demand; Energy industry; Energy recovery; Energy sources; Ethanol; Food processing industry; Force and energy; Forests; Fossil fuels; Humid areas; Livestock; Manures; Municipal solid waste; Municipal waste management; Potential energy; Public policy; Rainfall; Refuse and refuse disposal; Regional development; regional economy; Regional planning; Regions; Semiarid climates; Social impact; Solid waste management; Solid wastes; Spatial distribution; Sugarcane; Tropical forests; Urban agriculture; Urban areas; Vegetation; Water use; Brazil; Rio Grande do Norte Brazil; Atlantic Forest
• ISSN: 1996-1073; 1996-1073
• DOI: 10.3390/en16093903

In Northeast Brazil, the use of biomass for energy generation is settled on traditional productive arrangements, such as a sugarcane production system in the humid Atlantic coastal area and firewood extraction from native tropical dry forests in the west. In parallel, substantial amounts of other biomass sources, such as residues from agricultural or urban processes, are still little used or wholly wasted, fudging the opportunity to generate new value chains based on these biomass sources. We hypothesize that using these non-traditional biomass sources to produce biofuels would significantly increase the regional bioenergy supply. In this context, this article discusses the potential for the production and use of biofuels and bioenergy in Northeast Brazil and its effects on regional development, which may be useful for both private actors and policymakers in the energy sector. The use of biomass sources for energy in the region is significant, reaching approximately 8.8 million tons of oil equivalent (toe) per year, emphasizing the already consolidated production of sugarcane and its derivatives. The use of all biomass resources in the Northeast region could supply around 4% of the Brazilian national electrical energy demand, with an environmental footprint of 0.055 tCO2eq per toe, which would contribute to reducing emissions from the Brazilian energy matrix generation. Regarding the spatial distribution of biomass sources, sugarcane prevails on the coast, firewood and livestock manure in the dryland area towards the west, and municipal solid waste is distributed throughout the region within urban areas. Different from what we expected, the potential energy recovery from municipal waste and animal manure would increase by only 17% the current bioenergy supply. In the future, since the majority of the region presents a semi-arid climate with limited rainfall, to increase the use of biomass as an energy source, there is a need to increase the supply of biomass sources with high efficiency in water use and good yields in drylands. For this, the cultivation and use of cacti and agave, for example, could contribute to making biorefineries viable in the region. Above all, public policies for harnessing bioenergy in NE Brazil must seek opportunities associated with the carbon/decarbonization economy, with studies being needed to assess the technical, economic, social, and environmental viability of future productive arrangements.