Page 298 - Refining Biomass Residues for Sustainable Energy and Bioproducts

266 Refining Biomass Residues for Sustainable Energy and Bioproducts

of weight in field. It is a heterogeneous material containing high sucrose content
that possesses different physical and chemical composition. From the biorefinery
point of view, these residues are the major reserves of energy that is not used prop-
erly until today. In Brazil the possibilities of converting the sugarcane trash to agro-
nomic and energy purposes especially the tops and leaves to second-generation
fuels were studied. The comparative analysis of tops and leaves were done, and it is
found that the dry leaves have rich source of nutrients than the tops was confirmed
using simple enzymatic hydrolysis. Tufaile neto et al. (2015) found that the mois-
ture content of cane trash was found to be very high about 82.3%, and it is has high
heating value. Sugarcane straw and tips collected from the field, in which 50% was
used for maintaining the fertility of soil, and the remaining 50% was employed for
the burning in the boilers that produce electric energy (FAPESP, 2015).

12.2.3 Molasses as biorefinery
Molasses is a one precious byproduct of sugarcane, about 1 ton of it produces 4%
of molasses by the sugar processing industry in every single run. Molasses contain
rich source of nutrients, and it is employed as an effective raw material for the pro-
duction of organic acids especially ethanol (Teclu et al., 2009). Ethanol is the major
product obtained from the molasses by means of anaerobic fermentations using
microorganisms (Ometto et al., 2009). During this process, there is a release of car-
bon dioxide that will be utilized in the food preservation industries. Blending of
petrol with this absolute alcohol minimizes the air pollution caused by the conven-
tional fuels (Reitz and Duraisamy, 2015). Apart from this, molasses has been used
for the production of industrial chemicals, cosmetics, coatings varnishes, and phar-
ma industries (Ong et al., 2017). For each ton of molasses, about 200 L of ethanol
is produced by means of fermentation process, which is used for improving the
thermal property of engine (Fig. 12.3).

12.2.4 Vinasse as biorefinery

Vinasse is a liquid byproduct obtained during the distillation step of ethanol fer-
mentation process by using sugarcane biomass as raw material. Vinasse is mainly
used in cultivation practices as a liquid fertilizer due to the presence of rich mineral
nutrients and organic matters can be used as a substitute for fertilizer in the sugar-
cane cultivation (Walter et al., 2011). Usually it is used in irrigation practices due
to its good water reduction properties, but it possesses some disadvantages such as
generation of greenhouse gas emissions and causes soil and groundwater pollution
by reducing the pH during the distribution in crops. These create loss of fertility of
soil and lessen its fecundity. It is also used as food and feed supplement
(SALOMON), brick manufacturing (HASSUDA), and in the production of biogas
by means of anaerobic digestion (SZYMANSKI). Even though it possesses advan-
tages, it is crucial to manage the vinasse used in operations of energy production,
irrigation, and production of food supplements (Fadel et al., 2014). Recently, the
approach has been emerged toward the conversion of vinasse to value-added