Energy from wood biomass: The experience of the Brazilian forest sector
- Universidade Federal de Vicosa (Brazil)
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Floresta, Colombo (Brazil)
- Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)
Wood biomass is one of the most significant renewable sources of energy in Brazil. Fuelwood and charcoal play a very important role not only for household energy consumption but also for the cement, iron and steel industries. Wood is used as an energy source by the pulp and paper, composite board and other industries of the country, mainly for steam and electricity generation. Ethanol, lignin-based coke and methanol from wood were produced at experimental units in Brazil but were not implemented on a commercial scale. Currently, a new experimental plant using a technology developed in the US is being built in the state of Bahia to generate electricity from Eucalyptus. This technology is a Biomass Integrated Gasification/Gas Turbine process which is expected to make the use of wood biomass economically feasible for electricity generation. Forest plantations are the main source of wood biomass for energy consumption by the Brazilian industrial sector. Fiscal incentives in the 1960s helped the country to begin a massive reforestation program mainly using Eucalyptus and Pinus species. A native species, bracatinga (Mimosa scabrella) has also been used extensively for wood energy plantations in southern Brazil. Technical, economic, social and environmental impacts of these plantation forests are discussed along with a forecast of the future wood energy utilization in Brazil.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 140273
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-200-5768-Vol.1; CONF-9308106-Vol.1; ON: DE93010050; TRN: 93:003926-0004
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 1. biomass conference of the Americas: energy, environment, agriculture, and industry, Burlington, VT (United States), 30 Aug - 2 Sep 1993; Other Information: PBD: [1993]; Related Information: Is Part Of First Biomass Conference of the Americas: Energy, environment, agriculture, and industry; Proceedings, Volume 1; PB: 796 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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