Techno-Economic Assessment of Sugarcane Biorefineries

The techno‐economic assessment of sugarcane biorefineries encompasses the systematic evaluation of technical performance and economic viability in the conversion of sugarcane feedstocks into bio‐based products such as ethanol, electricity and advanced fuels. These assessments integrate process simulation, cost modelling and life‐cycle analysis to identify key cost drivers, yield improvements and environmental impacts across the value chain, from crop cultivation and feedstock logistics through pretreatment, conversion and product recovery. Particular emphasis is placed on comparing first-generation routes that exploit sugar juice with second-generation routes that valorise bagasse and straw, and on process‐integration strategies that employ residual biomass for heat and power. Flexible configurations capable of switching between ethanol and bioelectricity production have emerged to mitigate market volatility, while thermochemical pathways to drop-in fuels via Fischer–Tropsch synthesis and fast pyrolysis are gaining traction for transport decarbonisation. Globally, techno‐economic assessments underpin investment decisions, inform policy frameworks and guide research priorities by quantifying minimum selling prices, internal rates of return and greenhouse-gas reductions under realistic operational scenarios.

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Techno-Economic Assessment of Sugarcane Biorefineries publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in techno-economic assessment of sugarcane biorefineries across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Techno‐economic assessment: Combined analysis of technological performance and economic metrics to evaluate process feasibility and profitability.

First‐generation biofuel (1G): Ethanol produced by fermenting sugars extracted from sugarcane juice.

Second‐generation biofuel (2G): Ethanol or other biofuels derived from lignocellulosic residues such as bagasse and straw.

Minimum selling price (MSP): Lowest market price at which a product must be sold to cover capital, operating and feedstock costs.

Internal rate of return (IRR): Discount rate at which the net present value of an investment becomes zero, indicating its break-even profitability.

Fischer–Tropsch synthesis: Catalytic conversion of synthesis gas from biomass gasification into liquid hydrocarbons suitable for fuels.

References

1. Techno-economic analysis and climate change impacts of sugarcane biorefineries considering different time horizons. Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts (2017).
2. Techno-economic evaluation of 2nd generation bioethanol production from sugar cane bagasse and leaves integrated with the sugar-based ethanol process. Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts (2012).
3. Bioelectricity versus bioethanol from sugarcane bagasse: is it worth being flexible?. Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts (2013).
4. Techno-Economic and Environmental Assessment of Biomass Gasification and Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis Integrated to Sugarcane Biorefineries. Energies (2020).
5. Process simulation of renewable electricity from sugarcane straw: Techno-economic assessment of retrofit scenarios in Brazil. Journal of Cleaner Production (2020).
6. Integrated 1st and 2nd generation sugarcane bio-refinery for jet fuel production in Brazil: Techno-economic and greenhouse gas emissions assessment. Renewable Energy (2018).