"Although we already have 50 industries, there is much more room for scientific and technological development in biodiesel than in the oil industry, for example". The statement was made by the superintendent director of Ubrabio, Donizete Tokarski, during a live promoted by Embrapa Agroenergia this Thursday (07/09).

The purpose of the meeting was to present the contributions of science and technology to the development of the biofuels chain in Brazil and how investments in innovation can help in the expansion of renewables.

Under the moderation of the head of Embrapa Agroenergia, Alexandre Alonso, the online event also included the participation of the Director of Biofuels of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), Miguel Ivan Lacerda; the president of Unica, Evandro Gussi and the professor at Unicamp, Gonçalo Pereira.

According to Tokarski, Embrapa's actions contributed a lot to the implementation of the National Biodiesel Production and Use Program (PNPB), which is today a technically and economically sustainable State policy, with quality, competitive prices, and production from different sources. oilseeds and in different regions of the country.

Technological challenges 

“Actions aimed at RD&I can contribute to overcoming the technological challenges identified in the biodiesel area,” said the superintendent director at Ubrabio.

Among the challenges, Tokarski listed seven: 1) diversify the sources of raw materials; 2) increase the use of low-quality and lower-cost fatty materials; 3) optimize technologies for the production of biodiesel and fatty derivatives; 4) simplify quality control methodologies; 5) guarantee the quality of biodiesel during transport and storage; 6) increase the percentage of mixing with diesel oil, with quality assurance in production, post-production and use in engines and vehicles; and 7) adding value to co-products from the production and use chain.

“In the field of quality, Ubrabio even defends a Unified Quality Program. It is also worth remembering that our biodiesel already has quality, in view of the requirements of the resolutions of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), higher than the specifications of Europe or the USA ”, he said.

Soy traceability

The issue of traceability and eligibility of soy, and other raw materials, essential to the production of biodiesel was another point addressed by the superintendent of Ubrabio.

“The certification of the origin of soybeans is severely affected by the life cycle analysis of Renovacalc, which makes the possibility of CBios emissions very difficult in this important program, which is RenovaBio. However, we are already in line with Embrapa to develop a methodology to work on eligibility and, in a second moment, soy traceability ”, he revealed.

New raw materials alternative to soy 

“In the Cerrado alone, according to Embrapa itself, we have more than 12 thousand species of plants and certainly several of these species could be used in the production of oils, as well as in other biomes”, says Tokarski.

For him, it is necessary that CNPq promotes priority lines of research for biofuels, facilitating scholarships for master's and doctorate.

In addition, he believes that associations related to biofuels such as Ubrabio and Unica should have representatives on the Scientific Councils of CNPq and CAPES in order to guide the real scientific interests and challenges to be solved.

“The biggest source of funds for S&T in Brazil are resources from oil producing companies (Petrobras, Shell, Total, Galp, Sinochem, Equinor, etc.). We should support that a minimum percentage (20%, for example) be applied to biofuels ”, he added.

Biokerosene and green diesel (HVO) 

The introduction of new biofuels in the energy matrix was also part of the dialogue.

According to Tokarski, the big discussion is how to make biokerosene and HVO (green diesel) enter the market and for that it is necessary a Regulatory Framework that contemplates the different links of these chains, guaranteeing long-term predictability.