Ethanol: from the beginning to the current production phases

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the use of ethanol as fuel in Brazil, from the first initiatives until the present time, which is characterized by the production expansion to the Central-West Region of Brazil and by the crisis after 2008. Due to the petroleum price stability and internal problems, such as the ones related to supply and the end of governmental subsidies, the Proácool program remained stagnant in 1996–2002. In 2003, a second effort to the use of ethanol in Brazil was initiated, this period being named ‘flex-revolution’ (2003-2008). This effort occurred in a scenario of expansion of sugar-cane production to non-traditional regions. From 2008, due to several reasons, the expansion phase became an “uncertain and stagnant period” (2009-2013), frustrating the sector expectations. The abandonment of the mechanism of gasoline price ‘freezing’ as a tool to hold back inflation, associated with medium and long term government policies for use of biofuels, could lead to a resumption of growth in sugarcane production, especially in the Central-West Region of Brazil. The expansion in this region depends, to a large extent, on investments in infrastructure, such as ethanol pipeline, for example.