Generation and integration of biomass and photovoltaic energy to strengthen production chains of isolated communities in the Amazon River Estuary

• Grant number: 22/10456-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: December 01, 2023
• End date: November 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Agreement: CONFAP - National Council of State Research Support Foundations
• Principal Investigator: Ciro Abbud Righi
• Grantee: Ciro Abbud Righi
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Carlos Rodrigues Pereira ; Divya ; João Luís Ferreira Batista ; Marcelino Carneiro Guedes ; Werbeston Douglas de Oliveira
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/07604-3 - Above- and belowground biomass and soil carbon stocks and their relationships with land use in Ilha das Cinzas at the Amazon River Estuary, Brazil, BP.PD; 24/10876-5 - Ecological Assessment of vegetation zones across Ilha das Cinzas Island: Plant Functional Traits, Carbon Stock and Biodiversity, BP.PD

Abstract

Insufficient and non-renewable energy supply is a reality in isolated communities on islands in the Amazon estuary. In this geographic context, river access is the majority, imposing difficulties for the usual infrastructure, logistics, monitoring and integrated research formats. However, in recent years, Ilha das Cinzas has become a living laboratory that integrates the riverine way of life, biodiversity conservation, sustainable production and the use of alternative technologies. For example, photovoltaic generation is already being tested there to guarantee food sovereignty for families, whose main local production chain is açaí. This proposal aims to integrate photovoltaic and biomass energy generation using a gasifier already developed by the partnership between SeaHorse Energy, Associação dos Trabalhadores Agroextrativistas da Ilha das Cinzas (ATAIC), UNIFAP and Embrapa Amapá. Research methods and participatory monitoring will be used to validate the use of the gasifier with waste from the island's production chains and new accessories and functionalities will be developed. Using different types of biomass, the gases generated and the energy efficiency indices will be characterized, having as specific applications the filtered synthesis gas (syngás) for electric energy generation and mixtures with methane gas for direct combustion and operation of a community kitchen of knowledge and flavors. The sustainability of the process and the strengthening of the production chain will be measured by monitoring açaí production, modeling tidal inundation, mapping vegetation, estimating stored carbon and avoided emissions, in parallel with environmental education initiatives. These activities require the articulation of a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional team, which includes research groups from inside and outside the Amazon, which will seek to share and integrate the scientific and technological knowledge generated with the traditional knowledge of the communities involved. (AU)