Brazil biofuels venture to add complex in Alagoas

Brazilian advanced biofuels firm GranBio, biofuels producer Impacto Bioenergia and two sugarcane plant operators will build a biofuels complex in northeastern Alagoas state, the companies said. The biorefinery project, named Exygen I, will cost an estimated R1.5bn ($253mn) and produce carbon neutral ethanol, biomethane and biofertilizers. It will have production capacity of 160mn l/yr (2,760 b/d) by 2026 and use sugarcane byproducts as feedstock, according to GranBio.

Exygen I’s estimated biomethane production capacity will be 50mn m³/yr. The complex will produce the renewable gas from vinasse, a by-product of sugarcane processing. Future investments would include increasing Exygen I’s storage capacity and biogas distribution.

But the initial storage and biogas distribution capacities were not disclosed. The project’s next step includes producing biogenic CO2 — made from organic matter decomposition — biofertilizers and e-methanol, used in marine fuels. The project is a joint effort between GranBio, Impacto Bioenergia, Alagoas-based producing unit Caete and sugar and ethanol firm Central Açucareira Santo Antonio. Brazil’s fuels of the future law, approved in October, increased incentives for the country’s biofuels market.