Biodiesel and vegetable oil production in Brazil: reality and challenge

Abstract

Brazilian government and society have been debated the energy matrix in order to identify alternatives to oil by-products as a power source. Biodiesel has been considered most promising to replace part of the fossil fuel consumed in Brazil. Biofuel production would allow environmental gains and it could be used as an instrument of social inclusion for small farmers in disadvantaged regions. However, to achieve these goals, it is necessary that the production could be sustainable by providing the main raw materials available in the country. Advancing the discussion, this study analyzed the potential production of biodiesel to mix in diesel in five Brazilian geographical regions. Therefore, it was established a descriptive case study for two scenarios: all vegetable oil production allocated for biodiesel production; another, only the exported oil would be used for biodiesel production. In the first case, the total production of vegetable oil used for producing biodiesel would follow the law number of 11,097 in all regions surveyed. Moreover, biodiesel production that utilizes only exported oil has shown that Central-Western and Southern regions could attend the National Program for Production and Use of Biodiesel (PNPB). Nevertheless, other regions do not reach the mandatory blending of 2% biodiesel in diesel.