Exploitation of sugarcane as a high value-added raw material

• Grant number: 25/17489-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: October 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2030
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry
• Principal Investigator: Glaucia Mendes Souza
• Grantee: Lucas Henrique Ferreira Gonçalves
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/11460-1 - Sugarcane and energy-cane genomics and biotechnology for the improvement of yields, future climate resilience and bioproducts, AP.TEM

Abstract

Sugarcane is the world's highest-yielding biomass crop, used for millennia for sugar production, reaching an average global productivity of 70 tons/ha ("FAOSTAT," 2021). With the increasing use of industrial waste such as bagasse, straw, and vinasse for the production of energy and bioproducts, greater biomass production from this plant, its wider use, and the valorization of its residues have become desirable (Souza and Filho, 2016). This is a very favorable economic scenario for the bioeconomy to be truly implemented. This work plan foresees the study of sugarcane tissues and residues to increase their market value and explore the possibilities of increasing their use as alternative sources for obtaining fossil-based compounds. We will explore the metabolic pathways of the compounds of interest, quantify bioactives with commercial potential, and evaluate the potential use of supercritical CO2 technology. This approach will be carried out in collaboration with Prof. Pio Colepicolo from the Institute of Chemistry - USP.