Sustainable energy development in the gas and biofuels sector

• Grant number: 24/10262-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: July 01, 2024
• End date: June 30, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Cristiano José de Andrade
• Grantee: Cristiano José de Andrade
• Host Institution: Centro Tecnológico. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Florianópolis , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Brazilian energy sector is fundamental on the national scene. In this sense, the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels plays a leading role. The important role of expanding the supply of natural gas and biofuels to the market is highlighted. Specifically in the case of biofuels, the goal is for them to make up approximately 18% of the energy matrix by 2030. In the case of natural gas, the estimate is for an increase in demand above the average of general energy consumption. As for oil, its consumption scale will still remain significant. On the other hand, the environmental impacts of its exploration, processing and use must be subject to substantial improvement in the coming decades. As an example, we highlight the improvement of water treatment technologies produced on offshore platforms, energy efficiency and optimization of processing and the valuation of petroleum products that are not intended for burning. In Brazil, the supply of biofuels is generally associated with three main sources: ethanol, biodiesel and biogas. The first two cases are strongly established in the Brazilian matrix: ethanol production in 2018 was 17.2 Mtoe, while biodiesel production was 4.5 Mtoe. These two fuels showed growth of 33% and 79%, respectively, from 2012 to 2018. Ethanol production is concentrated in the southeast and central-west regions, with 90% of the total. Biodiesel production, in turn, is concentrated in the south and central-west regions, with 80% of the total. In the case of biogas, its history went through moments of motivation and demotivation in the 80s and 90s, which practically demobilized what had been implemented. The exposed scenario requires that people and entities get involved so that the process runs sustainably in the broadest sense: environmental, social and economic. Furthermore, it is very important, for reasons of national sovereignty, technological development and the holding of national intellectual capital in this area, where Brazil already occupies a prominent place, whether due to its pioneering spirit in pre-salt exploration or even due to its characteristic of our energy matrix. EQA/UFSC throughout its 40-year history has made great contributions in this area, systematically following the demands of Brazilian society, which are translated into the form of research notices from the main national funding agencies. Furthermore, it has worked in partnership with the production sector in order to align and give more specificity to its research and human resources training actions. The first class completed graduation in 1984 and by July 2018, 896 engineers had graduated, a historical average of 25 per year. Currently, the course has an index of 4 in the IGC/MEC. In this indicator, UFSC is the only one in the southern region with this score. Only 7 undergraduate courses in chemical engineering, out of a total of more than 100 courses in Brazil, are at this level. In the case of postgraduate studies in chemical engineering (PósENQ), since 1996, 536 masters have been trained, a historical average of 27 per year, and since 2001, 279 doctors have been trained, a historical average of 16 per year. PostENQ has a grade of 7 in the CAPES assessment, which represents the highest grade of excellence. Therefore, this project aims to train human resources in the area of sustainable energy development in the gas and biofuels sector. (AU)