Structuring a new agave-based biogas production chain

• Grant number: 20/02524-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2020
• End date: October 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Plant Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Gonçalo Amarante Guimarães Pereira
• Grantee: Gonçalo Amarante Guimarães Pereira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Ana Cristina Fermino Soares ; Aristóteles Góes Neto ; Gustavo Mockaitis ; Marcelo Falsarella Carazzolle ; Maria Angelica Pereira de Carvalho Costa ; Sarita Candida Rabelo

Abstract

Bahia is the largest producer of sisal fiber in the world, a fiber extracted from the species Agave sisalana. Bahia's production is about 20,400 tons, which corresponds to 58% of the world production. However, from an Agave plant, fiber accounts for only 4% of the leaf's weight, leaving moist bagasse, a material rich in organic matter and several molecules with potential for fine chemistry. This bagasse is abandoned in the field, consisting of a problem because it is the focus of pests and diseases, including for humans. Sugarcane experienced a similar situation in the 1970s, when Brazil started the program Pró-álcool. The solution found in this sector was burning this material in boilers to produce electric energy. Today this production accounts for around 27.1 TWh annually, being the second-largest source of renewable electricity in the country. However, the situation is different in the case of sisal, as the production is mainly family farming, with a very low level of organization and little investment capacity. Thus, one possibility for power generation from sisal bagasse lies in biogas generation. The objective of the present project is to characterize from a genetic, phenotypic and chemical point of view different Agave accessions planted in the semi-arid sisal producing region in Bahia, as well as high yield imported plants, evaluating the biogas production potential of some accessions, considering the whole plant and the bagasse left in the field by the sisal fiber production system currently applied in Bahia. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MARONE, MARINA PUPKE; ZANELI CAMPANARI, MARIA FERNANDA; RAYA, FABIO TRIGO; GUIMARAES PEREIRA, GONCALO AMARANTE; CARAZZOLLE, MARCELO FALSARELLA. Fungal communities represent the majority of root-specific transcripts in the transcriptomes of Agave plants grown in semiarid regions. PeerJ, v. 10, p. 24-pg., 2022-05-02. (13/08293-7, 20/02524-0)

CARVALHO, LUCAS M.; SILVA, NICHOLAS VINICIUS; DE ABREU, LUIS GUILHERME F.; MARONE, MARINA PUPKE; CARDELLI, ALEXANDRA RUSSOLO; RAYA, FABIO TRIGO; ARAUJO, GUIDO; CARAZZOLLE, MARCELO FALSARELLA; PEREIRA, GONCALO AMARANTE GUIMARAES. Analysis of protein-protein interaction and weighted co-expression networks revealed key modules and genes in multiple organs of Agave sisalana. FRONTIERS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, v. 5, p. 15-pg., 2023-05-26. (20/02524-0, 13/08293-7, 19/12914-3)