Bioprocesses systems engineering applied to the production of biofertilizers: from integrated biorefinery to microorganisms

• Grant number: 20/15450-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): May 01, 2021
• Status: Discontinued
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Cristiane Sanchez Farinas
• Grantee: Andrew Milli Elias
• Host Institution: Embrapa Instrumentação Agropecuária. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA). Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (Brasil). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/10636-8 - From the cell factory to the Biodiesel-Bioethanol integrated biorefinery: a systems approach applied to complex problems in micro and macroscales, AP.BIOEN.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/10900-8 - Multi-objective optimization of biofertilizer production considering economic and environmental aspects, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Brazil is an agribusiness powerhouse, with an emphasis on soybean, corn, and sugar cane crops. However, it imports almost 80% of all mineral fertilizers utilized. Allied to this data, it is known that most of the environmental impacts are associated with the use of fertilizers and pesticides in the crops. Therefore, it is necessary to search for more sustainable alternatives for traditional fertilization materials, which guarantee national energy sovereignty, in an economy with low emission of greenhouse gases. In this sense, biofertilizers (or inoculants) have a fundamental role because, through biological processes, they can reduce costs and the environmental impact associated with fertilizers, with increased productivity. Although there are several studies related to inoculants and their use, few carry out an analysis of the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of the industrial process. And, as far as we know, no work integrates biorefineries with industrial biofertilizer plants. In this context, this postdoctoral project's main objective is to carry out a techno-economic-environmental analysis of an industrial plant to produce biofertilizers annexed to a sugarcane ethanol biorefinery. It is intended to use several advanced tools of Bioprocess Systems Engineering, enabling the identification of operational bottlenecks, with the endorsement of economic and environmental analysis, which allows feedback to the research and development teams to produce biofertilizers with totally national technology. (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)

ELIAS, ANDREW M.; LONGATI, ANDREZA A.; ELLAMLA, HARIKISHAN R.; FURLAN, FELIPE F.; RIBEIRO, MARCELO P. A.; MARCELINO, PAULO R. F.; DOS SANTOS, JULIO C.; DA SILVA, SILVIO S.; GIORDANO, ROBERTO C.. Techno-Economic-Environmental Analysis of Sophorolipid Biosurfactant Production from Sugarcane Bagasse. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, v. 60, n. 27, p. 9833-9850, JUL 14 2021. (19/15851-2, 16/10636-8, 17/13349-2, 16/14852-7, 20/15450-5)