Plan is set to build Brazil's first cellulosic ethanol plant

Ethanol Producer Magazine
By Kris Bevill
May 23, 2012

Brazil-based GraalBio Investimentos S.A. will begin building Brazil’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant this summer in Alagaos, Brazil, a small coastal state in the northeast region of the country. Beta Renewables, a $350 million joint venture between Italian chemical company Mossi & Ghisolfi Group’s Chemtex division and private investment firm TPG, has agreed to license its trademarked Proesa pretreatment process technology to GraalBio for the 22 MMgy plant, which will allow GraalBio to convert locally sourced sugarcane straw and bagasse into ethanol and lignin.

Novozymes will supply enzymes for the enzymatic hydrolysis portion of the conversion process and yeasts licensed from DSM will be used for fermentation, according to GraalBio. The cellulosic plant will be located near an existing sugarcane mill, enabling the two facilities to share resources. Lignin produced as a byproduct at the cellulosic ethanol plant will be used to power the facility. The Brazilian Development Bank, BNDES, will finance the project, which is expected to begin operations in late 2013.

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