Brazil launches project to develop dedicated ethanol generators to power isolated rural communities

Ethanol Brasil's Marcelo Coelho reports about a project [*Portuguese/.pdf] launched by the University of São Carlos (USP) aimed at developing small dedicated and efficient biofuel generators that can supply electricity to isolated rural communities. The modular and mobile gensets will have a capacity of 15kW and will be adapted to run on hydrated ethanol, an abundant and highly competitive fuel. The project is managed by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the USP and funded by the National Council on Scientific and Technological Development. Brazil's succesful development of the flex-fuel engine for vehicles could well be replicated for electricity generators, because these flex-fuel engines form the starting point for the project.

In many developing countries, the majority of people live in small isolated rural communities cut off from modern energy supplies. Around 1.6 billion people have no access to electricity, this most basic of services, which has a serious impact on their social and economic development opportunities. Most recently, the world's leading energy scientists, in a key report about the future of energy, sketched the situation and urged the international institutions, governments, NGOs, and business communities to make access to modern energy for these communities a top priority. There is a strict correlation between the 'Human Development Index', which measures education, health and social development, and the 'Energy Development Index', the scientists said. Providing electricity and modern fuels to the poor is therefor key to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Without access to modern energy, development and poverty alleviation efforts are doomed to fail.

The catch-22 for developing countries, and their governments, is that as long as rural communities are not economically prosperous there is no reason to connect them to a grid (or so the logic goes); but as long as they do not have access to electricity, they can never prosper. The InterAcademy Council's report therefor urges all stakeholders to help these countries and communities to 'leapfrog' into a new logic, based on renewables. Because of their decentralised nature, renewables can be introduced and scaled to fit the needs of remote communities. With biofuel systems, local biomass resources can be utilized, and, in theory, rural villages can become their own fuel producers. The case for renewables becomes stronger with ever increasing petroleum prices.

It is within this context that the Brazilian project is interesting. In the project description, lead researcher Antonio Moreira Dos Santos gives an example of the difference dedicated biofuel gensets can make:

When, for example, small milk producers have no access to electricity, they can not pasteurize their milk nor conserve it because of a lack of refrigeration capacity. This limits their chances of producing for a market larger than their own needs. Moreover, many cases show that electricity supplies are intermittent or of bad quality. For small milk producers the damaging effects on their production are clear: refrigeration and pasteurisation equipment fails, destroying production.

The example can be replicated across sectors. Moreira says the gensets under development will be used for such activities as irrigation, food processing, water pumping and purification, and in fertilzer, herbicide and insecticide applications. Other uses are in education, health care and general household electricity:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: biolubricant :: generator :: flex-fuel :: electricity :: rural electrification :: poverty alleviation :: rural development :: Millennium Development Goals :: Brazil ::

The project will convert a group of four and one of two 15kW gasoline generators to run on hydrated ethanol. It will study the compression, ignition and lubrication requirements and adapt the carburetor to ensure the best performance. The gensets will be evaluated for thermodynamic performance and for the effects of ethanol on the mechanical parts. Combustion properties of the fuel, in combination with other (bio)fuels will be examined, as well as their emissions.

A range of bio-based lubricating oils will be compared with petroleum-based alternatives, and their performance in the modified gensets.

The researchers chose to study generator groups so that a sufficient electric load can be generated and because this way the durability of the system can be studied better.

The project draws on earlier Brazilian studies, such as an analysis of the development of experimental bi-fuel engines (biodiesel-bioethanol), a study and simulation of the exhaust and intake of ethanol in turbo-fed engines, and the great number of studies dealing with the emissions and combustion properties of ethanol and gasoline mixtures in combustion engines.

According to the researchers, the project has great social, economic and environmental relevance. By drawing on renewable, locally produced biofuels and biolubricants, lower emissions can be expected; air pollution can be reduced locally; the livelihoods and agricultural output of remote communities can be strengthened; and new jobs can be created, especially in poor regions in the North, Northeast and Center-West of the country. Once developed, the gensets can be used in other developing countries.

References:
EthanolBrasil: Geradores de energia elétrica movidos a etanol - October 24, 2007.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico: Desenvolvimento de grupos geradores de energia elétrica de pequeno porte movido à etanol para atender comunidades rurais isoladas [*.pdf]- USP / Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica de São Carlos.

Biopact: Leading scientists: energy crisis poses major 21st century threat, action needed now - October 23, 2007