Brazilian integrated sugarcane-soybean biorefinery: Trends and opportunities

Bioethanol and biodiesel are the most important biofuels worldwide. Although the production processes of these two biofuels are well established, there is still room for improvements. The integration of these two processes would allow the use of their wastes or by-products for increasing productivity or generating additional products. This would make it possible to improve the economics and sustainability of both processes. This article presents an overview focusing on a soybean biodiesel plant integrated into a sugarcane biorefinery. The process integration was evaluated considering agricultural, logistic, geographic, industrial, process stream, equipment, administrative, and commercial aspects. The integrated plant offers the opportunity for cost-effective and environmentally friendly biofuels processing, while expanding the portfolio of potential products.