Problem statement: The production of hydrolytic enzymes by T. aurantiacus has been performed under solid-state fermentations using lignocellulosic materials. The influences of the inoculum size and of the fermentation medium on the production of hemicellulases and cellulases were studied. Filtrates from the cultures were used to hydrolyze a pulp of sugarcane bagasse and the produced enzymes wer...

This study’s overarching aim is to establish the areal extent and characteristics of the rapid sugarcane expansion and land use change in São Paulo state (Brazil) as a result of an increase in the demand for ethanol, using Landsat type remotely sensed data. In 2003 flex fuel automobiles started to enter the Brazilian consumer market causing a dramatic expansion of sugarcane areas from 2.57 mill...

Many factors have, of course, contributed to the expansion of this industry to its present day proportions but one of the most significant is undoubtedly the adaptability of the crop to such a wide range of growing conditions and also the simplicity of its culture. Sugarcane is truly a "pioneering" crop for its expansion has been not so much at the expense of other crops but rather by the openi...

Corporate social responsibility is a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business activities and interactions  with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. In this global context, voluntary social and environmental practices of business which go beyond companies’ existing legal obligations play a major role in filling the governance gap in an innovati...

Sugarcane is an important tropical cash crop meeting 75% of world sugar demand and it is fast becoming an energy crop for the production of bio-fuel ethanol. A considerable area under sugarcane is prone to waterlogging which adversely affects both cane productivity and quality. In an effort to elucidate the genes underlying plant responses to waterlogging, a subtractive cDNA library was prepare...

Brazil has the world's largest ethanol production from sugarcane, but bacterial contamination decreases the ethanol yields. It was shown that the biocide DesinFix™ 135 can reduce the contamination without decreasing the yeasts' viability or negatively affecting the ethanol production.

Biomass integrated-gasifier/gas turbine combined cycle (BIG/GTCC) systems will be capable of producing up to twice as much electricity per unit of biomass consumed and are expected to have lower capital investment requirements per kW of capacity than condensing-extraction steam turbine (CEST) systems, the present-day commercial technology for electricity production from biomass. The significant...

Silicon (Si) is one of the most abundant elements found in the earth's crust, but is mostly inert and only slightly soluble. Agriculture activity tends to remove large quantities of Si from soil. Sugarcane is known to absorb more Si than any other mineral nutrient, accumulating approximately 380 kg ha of Si, in a 12-month old crop. Sugarcane (plant growth and development) responses to silicon f...

BACKGROUND Sugarcane is the most efficient crop for production of (1G) ethanol. Additionally, sugarcane bagasse can be used to produce (2G) ethanol. However, the manufacture of 2G ethanol in large scale is not a consolidated process yet. Thus, a detailed economic analysis, based on consistent simulations of the process, is worthwhile. Moreover, both ethanol and electric energy markets have been...