Study on the Potential of Syngas in Brazilian Industries
With the increasing demand for air transport services and the consequential growth of global air traffic registered each year, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will most likely rise quickly in the long term. In order to meet the international climate targets set by the Paris Agreement of 2015, the aviation sector set ambitious GHG emissions reduction goals towards carbon neutrality. A promising solution to decarbonise the aviation sector and to reach both the international and national commitments is the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), such as Power-to-Liquid (PtL) kerosene. To reduce aviation emissions in Brazil, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), on behalf of the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), launched the project Climate Neutral Alternative Fuels, also called ProQR, in 2017.
This study addresses the potential of different Brazilian industries to produce syngas with a view to estimating the potential production of PtL SAF through the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process. A detailed overview of different industries and their suitable feedstock sources for syngas production is also presented, particularly the soybean, biodiesel, sugarcane, ethanol, corn, rice, steel, cement, and pulp industries.
The selected industries were analysed in terms of their production processes in Brazil and the suitable residues and low-value by-products to determine their annual potential for syngas production through a conversion process. It was found that the soybean, corn, and sugarcane industries have the greatest potential for syngas production, followed by the steel, pulp, cement, ethanol, rice, and biodiesel segments. The potentials were then mapped by region and state using a geographic information system which enabled the identification of potential localities for SAF plants.
The Central-West region of Brazil, specially Mato Grosso state, and the Southeast region, mainly the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, were found to have the greatest potential for syngas production and the most suitable localities for SAF plants. This study shows that the Brazilian annual production of SAF could potentially reach 193 million tons if we consider the potential syngas production of all industry segments. The geographical location of Brazil, which favours the use of renewable energy sources, combined with the findings regarding the potential production of SAF by the country per year, appears to support the establishment of the extensive role of PtL kerosene in the Brazilian aviation sector.
