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International Journal of Energy Science (IJES) Volume 4 Issue 2, April 2014 www.ijesci.org 
doi: 10.14355/ijes.2014.0402.01 
35 
Theoretical Study about the Cogeneration 
Potential of the Bagasse Sugarcane at the 
Brazilian State of Minas Gerais 
Bruna de Fátima Pedrosa Guedes Flausinio*1,2, Antonella Lombardi Costa2, Ricardo Brant Pinheiro2, 
Ângela Fortini2 
1Departamento de Engenharia de Produção, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto; 2Departamento de Engenharia 
Nuclear, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais 
Campus Morro do Cruzeiro, s/n – Escola de Minas, Bauxita, CEP 35400-000; Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Escola de 
Engenharia – Campus Pampulha, CEP 31270-901 
Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil; Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil 
*brunapgf@eng-nucl.dout.ufmg.br; antonella@nuclear.ufmg.br; rpb@nuclear.ufmg.br; fortini@nuclear.ufmg.br 
 
Abstract 
In the industrial plants where the sugarcane bagasse is used 
for self energy generation, it is possible to produce more 
power than it is required for the sugar milling process. 
Therefore, the excess of power can be exported to the 
electricity grid in a process known as cogeneration. In the 
present work, the potential of sugarcane bagasse generated 
in the several plants in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais 
is evaluated for energy production in the process of 
cogeneration. The main aim is to demonstrate the possibility 
of increasing in the cogeneration potential using the bagasse 
at Minas Gerais. The results show, in theory, that the 
production of electricity for export to the regional grid 
would be significatively intensified if several actions could 
be taken as, for example, better use of the total bagasse 
generated in Minas Gerais and, mainly, providing the 
modernization of the plants for cogeneration. Predictions 
considered cogeneration using all bagasse produced in 
Minas Gerais according with data from the 2010/2011 
harvest. 
Keywords 
Sugarcane; Bagasse Sugarcane; Cogeneration; Electricity; Energy 
Introduction 
Nowadays, the technological innovations and the 
climate changes are stimulating much more the research 
of energy production involving alternative and 
sustainable sources in several countries. Brazil is the 
country that have higher renewable energy matrix in the 
world, according to the National Energy Balance 2012, 
year base 2011, reaching the level of 44.1%, which is very 
above of the world average of 13.3%, according to the 
International Energy Agency (EPE, 2012). Among the 
renewable sources present in the Brazilian matrix is the 
biomass, which is all organic matter, either animal or 
vegetable origin, used to produce energy such as is the 
case of the sugarcane bagasse - the object of study of this 
work. The bagasse is the fibrous residue after the 
sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) harvest and the 
extraction of its juice. 
Developments in the use of the sugarcane products 
has overstepped the boundaries of the production of 
sugar and alcohol (ethanol), since the use of the 
sugarcane wastes to generate electricity is actual in 
several waste sugar cane plants, where the main 
residual biomass is constituted by the bagasse of the 
sugarcane. The bagasse may also be used as animal 
feed, for paper, polymers and chipboard production, 
and is valuable feedstock for various industries 
(Banerjee and Pandey, 2002). The potential of 
sugarcane bagasse ashes, for example, has been 
considered as a possible partial replacement material 
for Portland cement (Paula et al., 2010). 
Despite the Brazil having peculiar tradition in the 
cultivation and processing of sugarcane, initially for 
the sugar production and latter, in the early twentieth 
century, for the production of alcohol (ethanol) fuel, 
cogeneration from sugarcane bagasse is a newer idea. 
The future projections indicate the trend for significant 
increase in the production of sugarcane in Brazil for 
the period 2010-2030 going from 518.4 × 106 t / year to 
1,141.2 x 106 t / year. Particulaly, in the Brazilian State 
of Minas Gerais, the production will must increase 
from 39.8 × 106 t / year to 110.0 × 106 t / year (MME and 
EPE, 2012). 
www.ijesci.org International Journal of Energy Science (IJES) Volume 4 Issue 2, April 2014 
36 
Production of Sugarcane in Brazil and in the 
Brazilian State of Minas Gerais 
The sugarcane plant presents high bioconversion by 
photosynthesis, causing large amount of atmospheric 
carbon fixation in the biomass. After harvesting of the 
sugarcane, it rests residues that may represent up to 
30% in weight of green matter and can provide an 
excellent source of animal feed and a valuable source 
of energy. These residues are usually left in the field 
after the harvest of sugarcane. In some cases, the waste 
can be separated and used, for example, for paper and 
fertilizer production. However, part of the waste of 
harvested sugarcane must be left in the field for 
agronomic reasons. 
The use of sugarcane in Brazil comes from the time of 
the colonization, beginning after the year of 1549. The 
destination of its use has changed during this long 
period. Earlier, the sugarcane was a source of 
exploitation, but in the current scenario the sugar-
alcohol sector assumes a totally different role 
representing not only a source of wealth for Brazil, but 
also a source of research and development. Sugarcane 
products are present in the daily life of the population: 
food, fuel, thermal energy and alcohol-chemical 
industry products. This fact justifies the need to better 
understand the factors that are connected to the sugar-
alcohol sector. 
Brazil currently has hundreds of industrial plants 
producing fuel from sugarcane and the vast majority 
of them are of the type "mixed", that is, they can 
produce both ethanol and sugar. Brazil is on the 
position of second largest producer of ethanol and the 
first largest producer of sugarcane in the world. 
However, in Brazil the distribution of the production 
is not homogeneous since 60% of all sugarcane 
produced in the country is located in the State of São 
Paulo (represented by SP in the Brazil map of the 
Figure 1). 
The other significative producing areas are Paraná 
(PR), Triângulo Mineiro (MG) and Northeastern forest 
Area (States of RN, PB, PE, AL and SE), as shown in 
Figure 1 (UNICA, 2013). In relation to the harvesting 
period, the best times are between April and 
November, for the Center-South region, and between 
November and April, for the Northeast region. 
 
FIG. 1 MAP OF SUGARCANE PRODUCTION IN BRASIL 
SOURCE: ADAPTED FROM UNICA, 2010 
According to data from CONAB, the Brazilian 
Company of Supply, the productivity of sugarcane in 
Minas Gerais for the 2010/2011 crop was 84,928 kg/ha, 
in a total of 55,198.1 x 10³ t, as detailed in bold in 
Table 1. The Table 1 presents also information about 
the 2009/2010 crop to Minas Gerais and the other 
five States more relevant in Brazilian production 
(considering the 2010/2011 crop). The total sugarcane 
production in Brazil in 2010/2011 was 624,991.0 x 10 ³ t 
(CONAB, 2011). 
According to the second survey of sugarcane production 
published by CONAB in August/2012 (CONAB, 2012) 
has been produced in the country a total of 560,363,800 
tons of sugarcane. Of this total, the State of Minas Gerais 
has contributed to the production of 50,241,800 tons of 
sugarcane, behind only the State of São Paulo, which 
TABLE 1 AREA, PRODUCTIVITY AND PRODUCTION OF SUGARCANE FOR THE FIVE MAIN BRAZILIAN STATES PRODUCERS 
States 
Area (x10³ ha) Productivity (kg/ha) Production (x10³ t) 
Harvest 
Variation 
(%) 
Harvest 
Variation 
(%) 
Harvest 
Variation 
(%) 2009/ 
2010 
2010/ 
2011 
2009/ 
2010 
2010/ 
2011 
2009/ 
2010 
2010/ 
2011 
SP 4,129,872 4,357,010 5.50 87,815 82,450 6.10 362,664.7 359,235.5 0.90 
MG 588,816 649,940 10.38 84,786 84,928 0.20 49,923.4 55,198.1 10.6 
GO 471,898 599,310 27.0 84,960 80,0605.80 40,092.5 47,980.8 19.7 
PR 535,958 582,320 8.65 84,900 75,397 11.20 45,502.8 43,905.2 3.5 
MS 265,396 396,160 49.27 87,785 86,665 1.30 23,297.8 34,333.2 47.4 
SOURCE: CONAB, 2011
International Journal of Energy Science (IJES) Volume 4 Issue 2, April 2014 www.ijesci.org 
 37 
sugarcane production in 2011/2012 in relation to the 
2010/2011 crop. According to the Brazilian Energy 
Research Company (Empresa de Pesquisa Energética), 
the reduction of approximately 9.8% in Brazilian 
sugarcane production was due to crop problems (MME 
and EPE, 2012). However, Minas Gerais still remained in 
second place in the national production, besides 
presenting an expectation of growth at more than 6% for 
the 2012/2013 season, reaching the production of 
53,562,000 t. Such configuration justifies special attention 
for studies about the potential of the sugarcane bagasse 
for the electric power generation in Minas Gerais. 
Moreover, in recent years has occurred a relative 
saturation of the sugarcane producing areas available 
and also increase in the cost of lands in the State of São 
Paulo. So, the new production units are being installed 
in areas before occupied by pastures and, to a lesser 
extent, by annual crops in the region of Triângulo 
Mineiro (MG), South of Goias (GO) and East of Mato 
Grosso do Sul (MS) (BNDES and CGEE, 2008). 
The Use of Sugarcane Bagasse for Eletric 
Power Generation 
Brazil dominates the complete cycle of production of 
sugar and ethanol, since the crop productivity until the 
installation of the necessary equipments. The squematic 
diagram of sugar and ethanol production by a plant is 
illustrated in the Figure 2 (Silva, 2010), which identifies 
the process steps that leads to the generation of the 
bagasse, i.e. grinding and, more recently, the diffusion. 
The bagasse generated can be used efficiently for power 
generation through cogeneration for energy use in the 
own plant that processes the sugarcane or inefficiently, 
to return to the cultivated fields as fertilizer, or simply 
burned, resulting in irreparable damage to the 
environment, with direct effects to the air pollution 
(Kirchhoff, 1991). In addition, the bagasse is a source of 
organic matter, and it can contaminate the groundwater 
in cases of deposition of this bagasse directly in places 
where geomorphological factors facilitate such 
contamination. 
In many cases, the bagasse, which is used for power 
generation to the sugar mill and/or alcohol, produces 
more energy than is required for the same. In this way, 
the excess energy can be exported to the electric grid 
(MME, 2006). 
In Brazil, cogeneration from bagasse and the use of 
ethanol fuel generates a net reduction of greenhouse 
gases, which allows the exportation of carbon credits. 
Figure 3 presents the basic steps of a cogeneration 
process. The net total of bagasse produced varies from 
24% to 27% of the sugarcane processed (Filho, 2012). 
 
FIG. 2 GENERAL SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF A SUGAR-ETHANOL PLANT 
SOURCE: ADAPTED FROM (SILVA, 2010) 
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FIG. 3 GENERAL COGENERATION SCHEME USING THE 
SUGARCANE BAGASSE. SOURCE: SELF ELABORATION 
In this work, it is being considered the percentage 
of 27% of bagasse in the analyses. It is being still 
considered that about 52% of the energy generated is 
sold as surplus (Mateus, 2010). 
For energy cogeneration from bagasse, it has been used 
two commercial technologies that use back-pressure 
turbines, which are the most widespread in the Brazilian 
sugar-alcohol sector and condensing/extraction turbines. 
A plant that uses sugarcane bagasse is composed, in 
addition of the boiler and several other systems as: 
turbine, electric generator, elevating substation and 
power transmission system, plus a set of peripheral 
systems as boiler feed, cooling systems, and others 
(Mateus, 2010). 
The bagasse storage process must be carefully planned. 
The temperature of the stored bagasse increases due to 
the action of microorganisms and can impair the health 
of workers by bagassosis (Ueda, 1992). This has been 
described as a hypersensibility characterized by 
inflammation of the bronchi and alveoli, caused by the 
action of bacterial endotoxin in stored bagasse (ABMT, 
2013). In this way, researchs have been carried out to 
study the ideal means for storing, such as described in 
(Lois-Correa, 2010), and also to study the process of 
bagasse drying, as investigated in (Sosa-Arnao et al., 
2004). 
Economic Justification for the Use of the 
Sugarcane Bagasse in the Cogeneration 
As it was described in the section 2, the sugarcane plant 
presents high conversion of the solar energy into 
biomass by photosynthesis, causing large amount of 
atmospheric carbon fixation in the biomass. The 
combustion of the bagasse generates carbon dioxide as a 
by-product; however the dioxide produced is then 
absorbed by the next generation of cane making the 
process carbon neutral (Ueda et al., 1992). Moreover, the 
sugarcane bagasse is highly competitive with the oil 
because it is produced in big quantities and it is 
benefittied in part during the milling process. The 
bagasse has substituted the derived from the oil and the 
firewood in the industrial sugar plants providing the 
thermal and electric self-sufficiency to these industries. 
A key point to predict the amount of energy that can be 
extracted from the sugarcane bagasse is the technology 
used in the process of power generation. According to 
the Energy Research Company (MME and EPE, 2012) 
the caloric value of sugarcane, considering all its 
components is approximately 1,060 kcal/kg being, from 
this total, 620 kcal/kg due to the sugarcane juice. 
Research has shown that only the use of high efficiency 
boilers generating steam at high pressures and 
temperatures (60-80 bar and 490-520° C, respectively, 
and higher) allows additional electric energy production 
in a plant. However, the cost of boilers and their 
installation is relatively high. On the other hand, studies 
show that capital investment costs can be covered by 
revenue from exports of surplus electricity to the 
network in about three to five years (ISO, 2013). For an 
example, an economic evaluation of the investiment in a 
manufacturing company in Zimbabwe demonstrated 
that the payback period would be 3.3 years (Mtunzi et 
al., 2012) In a future work, data will be collected to 
calculate the costs for modernization in Minas Gerais 
plants and the time to recover the investiments. 
General Aspects of Cogeneration in the 
Brazilian Sugarcane Sector 
The cogeneration plants in the sugar and alcohol sector 
have some particularities as the technical specifications 
of the projects designed for energy self-sufficiency of the 
plants, the potential for commercialization of surplus 
electricity and even the seasonality of production and 
consumption. For the periods between the sugarcane 
harvests, all the machinery stops off. 
The potential for electricity generation, for example, is 
directly related to the technology used, due to the unit 
cost (US $/kW installed) be affetected by the scale effect. 
In Brazil, most plants use boilers of medium pressure (22 
bar, 300 °C), although are available boilers from 40 to 
100 bar, which would increase significantly the energy 
efficiency. However, the costs of such equipment are 
high (Souza e Azevedo, 2006). Moreover, the current 
situation of the economic scenario for energy from the 
sugarcane sector shows that one of the major points to 
be worked is the renovation of the sugar plantations to 
possibility the increasing of the sugar cane production. 
According to (Carpio and Lora, 2002), there are other 
factors that affect the cost of equipments such as boilers 
and turbines. For example, there is a large price 
difference betweenmanufacturers, which is related to 
International Journal of Energy Science (IJES) Volume 4 Issue 2, April 2014 www.ijesci.org 
 39 
issues like logistic transport, taxes, equipment 
installations, including costs with civil works, auxiliary 
devices and the devaluation of the Brazilian monetary 
unit. These additional costs are dependent on the price 
of the equipment, as shown in Table 2. 
TABLE 2 INDICATORS USED IN TECHNIC-ECONOMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE 
ADDITIONAL COSTS TO THE PRICES OF EQUIPMENT USED FOR 
COGENERATION OF THE SUGARCANE INDUSTRY 
Equipment Boiler Turbine 
Instalation 20 – 25% 
16% 
Pipework for steam 8% 
Water treatment 4% - 
Civil works 3% - 
Command, control, 
distribution and 
interconnection with the 
external network 
- 7 – 10% 
Unforeseens 12% 2% 
SOURCE: CARPIO AND LORA, 2002 
Minas Gerais – A Theoretical Valuation of the 
Cogeneration from Bagasse of Sugarcane 
According to Table 1, presented earlier, Minas Gerais 
produced 55,198.1 x 10³ t of sugarcane, generating 
therefore about 14,903.5 x 10³ t (27%) of bagasse 
(considering the 2010/2011 crop). 
Obviously, there are several elements to consider that 
can affect the electricity production by the bagasse 
burning, such as the presence of humidity in the same. 
The bagasse drying techniques are expensive and must 
be carefully investigated. An experiment related bagasse 
calorific value according to the humidity present in the 
same concluding that it is possible to reduce the 
humidity to about 20% and, consequently, increase the 
energy performance of bagasse to ub = 3,641 kcal/kg = 
15,244.14 kJ/kg (Silva and Morais, 2008). Therefore, 
considering the annual bagasse production in Minas 
Gerais being about Mb = 14,903.5 x 10³ t and the calorific 
value of ub = 3,641 kcal/kg, the thermal energy 
generation, Et, would be: 
Et = Mb x ub = 14,903.5 x 106 kg x 3,641 kcal/kg = 54.26 x 
10 ¹² kcal = 63,092.75 GWht. 
Moreover, it is necessary also to consider that at least 
about 52% of the total energy produced could be 
commercialized and also the fact that the industrial 
plants for cogeneration in Minas Gerais have an average 
efficiency to coversion of 30%. Then, it is possible to 
conclude that the total electrical energy, Ee, provided by 
the 14,903.5 x 10³ t of bagasse considered in these 
calculations is: 
Ee = Et x 52% x 30% = 63,092.75 GWh x 0.52 x 0.30 = 
9,842.50 GWh. 
These calculations were made considering that all the 
bagasse produced in the State of Minas Gerais were 
converted into energy, therefore a theoretical estimate 
maximized. In practice, according to data from the 
2008/2009 harvest, were marketed about 72.15 GWh 
surplus, as it is being described in the subsection “The 
Actual Situation”. It can be concluded then that there is a 
very high potential to be explored in the sugarcane 
bagasse cogeneration. 
For a more realistic assessment of the situation it is 
necessary to investigate the current scenario. The 
analysis of installed capacity of cogeneration in the 
sugar-alcohol sector of Minas Gerais must initially to 
considere the number of industrial plants in this sector 
and also the prospects of introduction of new 
installations and/or extensions of existing ones. 
The performance of the plants should be evaluated from 
the point of view of energy and exergy analysis, taking 
into account various technical characteristics of systems 
that compose the plants such as boilers, turbines, valves, 
condensers, etc as, for example, in the study done by 
(Saint-Martin, 2005) and (Saint-Martin and Pinheiro, 
2007). 
The Actual Situation 
A careful investigation done in 2010 (Mateus, 2010) 
revealed the presence of 43 sugar-alcohol plants 
operating in Minas Gerais and, in addition, 23 plants in 
project and development, distributed as can be seen in 
Table 3. 
The installed capacities of cogeneration of such plants 
are presented in Table 4 (Mateus, 2010). It has been 
found that, for the 2008/2009 harvest, twelve of these 
facilities did not provide any information about their 
production of electric energy in the year 2008 for his self 
use and for marketing, and six others were not operating 
during the considered period. In this way, the installed 
capacity corresponded to 787.0 MW considering the 
available data. For the plants in the implementation 
phase and project, it is estimated that the installed 
capacity can reache the value of 719.7 MW, as shown in 
Table 4. 
The installed capacity of cogeneration, presented in 
Table 4, for the plants in operation took into account 
only eight of them, once for the other there was no 
marketing of energy, or was not informed or, even, the 
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40 
plant was not operating during this period or some 
other cause. 
These eight plants were responsible for the 
comercialisation of excess of 72.15 GWh from the total of 
138.43 GWh generated, that is, about 52% of the total 
generated (values for the crop of 2008/2009) (Mateus, 
2010). 
From the data of Table 4, it is possible to conclude that 
there is the possibility to export surplus energy to the 
public power grid, from the installed capacity of 
cogeneration in the sugar-alcohol sector of Minas Gerais. 
Therefore, the surplus energy provided by the 
cogeneration is really very important and has potential 
to supply the need of electricity of other localities. 
Therefore, the twenty-three new plants (Tab. 3) to be 
installed in Minas Gerais may increase installed capacity 
by almost 50%, which means an increase in the current 
electric generation capacity. However, a big problem to 
be considered is the cost of investment in high pressure 
boilers and turbines. Make such modernization is very 
difficult in plants already installed, mainly the older 
plants. 
TABLE 3 SUGAR-ALCOHOL PLANTS IN MINAS GERAIS 
Exclusive 
sugar 
producers 
Exclusive 
alcohol 
producers 
(anhydrous 
and 
hydrated1) 
Sugar and 
alcohol 
producers 
(anhydrou
s and 
hydrated1) 
Plants in 
implemen
-tation 
phase2 
Plants 
in 
project 
develop
-ment 
phase3 
2 20 21 10 13 
Total: 43 Total: 23 
1- The anhydrous alcohol has a minimum alcohol content of 99.7° 
GL and is mixed with gasoline. The hydrated alcohol has alcohol 
of 96° GL and can be directly used as fuel. The symbol º GL is used 
to Gay Lussac degree, which is volume fraction of alcohol and 
water mixture. 
2- In December 2010, for projects being implemented had already 
been granted the relevant environmental licenses. Among the 
projects being implemented, eight will be exclusively to the 
production of alcohol and two to the sugar and alcohol 
production. 
3- Nine of the projects in design phase will product alcohol, while 
the remaining will be allocated also to the production of sugar. 
SOURCE: ADAPTED FROM (MATEUS, 2010) 
TABLE 4 INSTALLED CAPACITY OF COGENERATION IN THE SUGAR-ALCOHOL 
SECTOR OF MINAS GERAIS 
Plants Cogeneration (MW) 
In operation 787.0 
In implementation phase 251.8 
In project phase 467.9 
Total 1,506.7 
SOURCE: MATEUS, 2010 
The first energy Brazilian auction that included the 
biomass occurred in 2007, resulting in the hiring of 
2,379.4 MW for the Brazilian electrical system from 2009 
to 2010. A total of 31 thermoelectric power plants of 
biomass (sugarcane bagasse and elephant grass) 
negotiated the sale of energy at an average final price of 
R$ 58.84/MWh corresponding, in that period, at about 
US $ 28.3/MWh. Already in 2012, there was the hiring of 
nine projects of biomass power plants, totaling 647 MW, 
at an average price of R$ 135.58/MWh (= US 
$ 65.18/MWh). Thus, it is evident that the prices of the 
surplus energy from sugarcane mills may become more 
attractive and boost the sector. 
Energetic Safety and Sustainability 
The production of electric energy from the cogeneration 
using sugarcanebagasse as fuel is characterized as a 
sustainable proposal to reduce the problems resulting 
from the electric power supply, which in turn is practily 
all attended by hydroelectric plants. Nevertheless, while 
the two sources act as an integrated system, since the 
harvest of sugarcane coincides with the time of drought, 
there is the issue of minimization of social, economic 
and environmental impacts related to the construction of 
hydroelectric plants. On the other hand, Brazil cannot 
give up of the construction of large hydroelectrics, even 
in the Amazonic region. And, still, the hydroelectric 
plants to be built must have reservoirs, in order to 
regulate the electrical system. 
This possible power supply configuration in the country 
can now be observed in the 10-year Energy Expansion 
Plan - PDE 2021 that indicates the wind energy and 
biomass as two energy resources that would be the 
responsible for the increase in the participation of 
renewable sources in the internal energy offer (CONAB, 
2012). This fact does not imply that hydroelectric plants 
Conclusions 
In this initial study about the potential of cogeneration 
in the sugar-alcohol sector installed in the State of Minas 
Gerais was verified that production of surplus electricity 
from bagasse of sugarcane to feed the network would be 
drastically increased if it would be considered the 
modernization of the installed plants in operation and, 
and in parallel, improvements of the tecniques of 
bagasse drying and storage, that is, depending of the 
cost-benefit of each industry. 
According to data obtained from sugar and ethanol 
industrial plants in the State of Minas Gerais, it was 
found that would be possible to trade the energy 
International Journal of Energy Science (IJES) Volume 4 Issue 2, April 2014 www.ijesci.org 
 41 
surplus of 72.15 GWh from the 138.43 GWh total 
generated (crop of 2008/2009) (Mateus, 2010). However, 
a theoretical calculation, considering the conversion of 
all produced bagasse in electrical energy, has shown that 
it would be possible to reach values still higher, 
demonstrating that it would be possible to increase the 
electricity production by means of the use of sugarcane 
bagasse in Minas Gerais. It can be concluded then that 
still there is a very high potential to be explored in the 
sugarcane bagasse cogeneration. In addition, the use of 
the bagasse for energy potential brings important 
economic and environmental gains. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
The authors are grateful to Universidade Federal de 
Ouro Preto and the FAPEMIG for the support. 
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mapa-da-producao. 
Bruna F. P. G. Flausinio was born in Nova Era, MG, Brazil, 
in 1979. Flausinio is graduated in Environmental 
Engineering at the Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, 
Brazil (2005). She got her MSc Degree in Environmental 
Engineering at the same institution (2009). 
Since the year 2011 she is Doctor student in the Program of 
Nuclear Sciences and Techniques in the Universidade 
Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) and her studies are about 
the use of the sugarcane bagasse in the cogeneration. 
Currently, Prof. Flausinio works as professor in the 
Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, mainly working about 
Energy Planning. 
Antonella L. Costa was born in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, 
in 1971. Costa is graduated in Physics at the UFMG, Brazil 
(1999). She got her MSc Degree on Nuclear Engineering in 
the UFMG, Brazil (2000), and the PhD degree on Nuclear 
and Industrial Safety at the University of Pisa, Italy (2007). 
Currently, she works as professor and researcher at the 
Nuclear Engineering Department of the UFMG, Brazil. She 
has experience on minor actinides transmutation in nuclear 
systems, neutronic and thermal hydraulic valuation, 
research reactors, renewable resources. 
Prof. Costa is also a member of the National Science and 
Technology Institute of Innovators Nuclear Reactors, Brazil. 
Ângela Fortini was born in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
Fortini is graduated in Electrical Engineering at the UFMG, 
Brazil (1972). She got her MSc Degree on Nuclear 
Engineering in the UFMG, Brazil (1977). She is Doctor 
student in the Program of Nuclear Sciences and Techniques 
in the UFMG. 
Currently, she works as professor and researcher at the 
Nuclear Engineering Department of the UFMG, Brazil. She 
has experience on renewable resources, energy planning and 
nuclear engineering. 
Prof. Fortini is the head of the Nuclear Engineering 
Department in the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. 
Ricardo B. Pinheiro was born in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, 
in 1939. Pinheiro is graduated in Electrical and Mechanics 
Engineering at the UFMG (1963). He got his Nuclear 
Engineering Specialization (1964) also in the UFMG and the 
Doctor Degree in the Faculté des Sciences d'Orsay, 
Université de Paris XI (1968). 
He worked as researcher at the National Commission for 
Nuclear Energy of Brazil and Empresas Nucleares Brasileiras 
SA – Nuclebras for about 35 years in Reactor Physics and 
Reactor Technology. He coordinated several projects mainly 
related with thorium utilization in Pressurized Water 
Reactors, reactor safety and reactor component testing. 
Since 1997, Prof. Pinheiro works as associate professor at the 
Department of Nuclear Engineering, UFMG, Brazil. He gives 
lessons on energy planning, energy resources, exergetic 
analysis of energy conversion systems and nuclear 
engineering. 
 
	Theoretical Study about the Cogeneration Potential of the Bagasse Sugarcane at the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais
	Bruna de Fátima Pedrosa Guedes Flausinio*1,2, Antonella Lombardi Costa2, Ricardo Brant Pinheiro2, Ângela Fortini2
	Abstract
	Keywords
	Sugarcane; Bagasse Sugarcane; Cogeneration; Electricity; Energy
	Introduction
	Nowadays, the technological innovations and the climate changes are stimulating much more the research of energy production involving alternative and sustainable sources in several countries. Brazil is the country that have higher renewable energy mat...
	Production of Sugarcane in Brazil and in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais
	The Use of Sugarcane Bagasse for Eletric Power Generation
	Economic Justification for the Use of the Sugarcane Bagasse in the Cogeneration
	General Aspects of Cogeneration in the Brazilian Sugarcane Sector
	Minas Gerais – A Theoretical Valuation of the Cogeneration from Bagasse of Sugarcane
	The Actual Situation
	Energetic Safety and Sustainability
	Conclusions
	acknowledgment
	references
	Prof. Costa is also a member of the National Science and Technology Institute of Innovators Nuclear Reactors, Brazil.
	Ângela Fortini was born in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Fortini is graduated in Electrical Engineering at the UFMG, Brazil (1972). She got her MSc Degree on Nuclear Engineering in the UFMG, Brazil (1977). She is Doctor student in the Program of Nuclear...
	Ricardo B. Pinheiro was born in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, in 1939. Pinheiro is graduated in Electrical and Mechanics Engineering at the UFMG (1963). He got his Nuclear Engineering Specialization (1964) also in the UFMG and the Doctor Degree in the ...
	He worked as researcher at the National Commission for Nuclear Energy of Brazil and Empresas Nucleares Brasileiras SA – Nuclebras for about 35 years in Reactor Physics and Reactor Technology. He coordinated several projects mainly related with thorium...