Brazil is an ideal setting for this initiative because Brazil is the pioneer of ethanol as a fuel. Moreover, Brazil produces enough ethanol to satisfy both its vehicle fuel market and a household energy market. Indeed, just as Brazil engendered the PROALCOOL movement that has permitted it to achieve virtual energy independence, despite the rapidly growing number of automobiles on Brazilian roads, so also could Brazil launch a PROALCOOL movement in household energy, which would allow Brazilians to move either partially or entirely from LPG to ethanol for cooking, freeing up domestically produced LPG for industry fuel and feedstock, and for export into a rapidly rising international market.
The 8.6 million wood stoves used by rural and urban marginal families account for 17.4% of Brazil’s household energy consumption. In Minas Gerais State, for example, where the Projeto Gaia pilot studies were conducted,
• almost half the total household energy consumption is met by fuel wood;
• use of fuel wood in the poorest areas accounts for 82.3% of household energy demand;
• more than half the households rely exclusively on wood for fuel;
• about one quarter of the households use wood and some LPG;
• many families are cooking less with LPG and more with fuel wood because of the rapid rise in the cost of LPG.
• To investigate the potential of ethanol as an improved cooking fuel in a country where LPG may not be a viable option in the future due to rising fuel costs
• To demonstrate that a market for ethanol as a cooking fuel can exist, and can be supplied by Brazil’s surplus ethanol from the automobile fuel market
• To examine the feasibility of ethanol micro-distilleries (EMD) as potential suppliers of cooking ethanol
• To understand the potential of the EMDs to reduce poverty by offering a unique opportunity for poor rural communities to produce their own clean, renewable household fuel (and other products), thereby generating income and investment in their communities.
A 100-stove pilot study has been completed in three locations in Minas Gerais State. These are the towns of Salinas, Urucania-Jatiboca, and Dom Orione. Goals of these studies are:
• To test user acceptance of the new stove technology
• To determine user response to cooking with ethanol in a country where ethanol is viewed first as an automotive fuel
• To assess the feasibility of community managed ethanol microdistilleries.
• 74% of study households found the CleanCook stove to be “safer” to operate than their LPG stoves.
• 95% of study participants in Salinas and Jatiboca, and 76% of homes in Dom Orione, said the CleanCook stove was “as clean or cleaner-burning” than an LPG stove.
• 81% of families considered their kitchen environment to be “cleaner” as a result of cooking with this stove.
• 71% of families in Salinas, and 53% of families in Dom Orione, decided to continue using the stove by purchasing ethanol at full price after the study ended.
Nearly every household observed that the CleanCook stove cooked common foodstuffs (beans, rice) faster than their LPG stoves, saving approximately 15 minutes of cooking time on average for each of these food items, reducing the use of wood and LPG stoves in part.
Among the lowest income households, the ability to purchase ethanol in small quantities was very attractive. Having to buy a 13kg LPG canister was very difficult for many families, but being able to purchase a liter of ethanol from day to day fit their home economics more appropriately.
TOP
This study seeks to determine the feasibility of installing community-based ethanol mini-distilleries dedicated to the production of alcohol fuel for stoves and other household energy uses.
Supported by law. Microdistilleries have a possible application in rural Brazil to alleviate poverty, especially in farming families. The national legislature is debating three laws about providing market incentives for EMDs. In Minas Gerais a state law provides incentives to microdistilleries, although it is not yet fully implemented.
Reducing the cost for consumers. Increasing global demand for ethanol (as an automotive fuel) and sugar has proven beneficial to the large sugar companies, as internal market prices have increased with global demand for alcohol fuels. Microdistilleries could be used to supply the local markets and perhaps keep costs down domestically in some key regions.
Additional benefits for producers. A microdistillery that produces 100 to 500 liters per day could be managed by one farming family. Aside from producing ethanol for their own use, they could produce other products for sale: rapadura (a candy made from sugar cane juice), sugar, and cachaça (a distilled alcoholic drink).
Improving the quality of life. Improved life quality in rural areas through the generation of increased family income may prevent more rural people from leaving their farms and the countryside for the cities in the hope of finding better livelihoods.
Reducing environmental impact. Using residual sugarcane bagasse to feed cattle after it has first been used to produce ethanol reduces the environmental impact of waste products from sugar plantations. The acidic byproduct of EMD, vinhoto, can and should be used as fertilizer in the fields. Using EMD residues at the farm level is a perfect fit for this technology.
Locala government. By improving the quality of life in rural areas through the promotion of microdistilleries, local governments would experience a decrease in the cost for social programs.
The Shell Foundation, an independent UK-based charity, collaborated with Dometic AB, a Swedish company and manufacturer of the CleanCook alcohol stove, to fund the pilot studies. Several organizations collaborated to design and implement the pilot studies. These included Project Gaia Research Studies, Winrock International, the Stokes Consulting Group, and local NGO partner Banco do Povo (Bank of the People), a micro-credit lending agency which is part of Centro Cape, and an economic development organization. This team remains in place today to take the project to its next phase: commercialization. The team worked with energy expert Dr. Luiz Augusto Horta Nogueira of the Universidade Federal de Itajubá and with microdistillery expert Professor Juarez de Sousa e Silva of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa.
Read more about Project Gaia Brazil in the full press release (PDF format). If you have questions about the Brailian effort, contact us via email. Visit www.projetogaia.com (in Portuguese) for more details about the project, including study reports.
TOP
| 
