Government
Biodiesel in Brazil
The History
Vegetable oils have been used as combustibles in
Brazil since the 20s. the 60s, Matarazzo Industries
searched for ways to produce oil through coffee beans. To wash the
form coffee to remove its impurities, improper for the human
consumption, the alcohol of the sugar cane was used. The reaction
between the alcohol and the oil of coffee resulted in the glycerin
release, resulting in etílico ester, a product that today is called
biodiesel.
In the decade of 70, the Federal University of
the Ceará - UFCE - developed research with the intention to find
alternative energy sources. The experiences had finished for
disclosing to a new originary fuel of vegetal oils and with similar
properties to the conventional oil diesel, biodiesel. The energy
vegetal oil use in Brazil was considered in 1975, originating the
Pro-oil - Plan of Vegetal Oil Production for Energy Ends. Its
objective age to generate vegetal an oil excess capable to become
its competitive costs of production with the ones of the oil. A
mixture of 30% of vegetal oil in the oil was foreseen diesel, with
perspectives for its integral substitution in long stated period.
With the envolvement of other institutions of research, of the
Petrobra's and the Ministry of the Aeronautics, the PRODIESEL in
1980 was created.
The fuel was tested by manufacturers of vehicles
diesel. The UFCE also developed the vegetal kerosene of aviation for
the Ministry of the Aeronautics. After the tests in airplanes the
spurt, the fuel was homologated by the Center Aerospace Technician.
In 1983, the Federal Government, motivated for the high one in the
oil prices, launched the Vegetal Oil Program - OVEG, in which it was
tested the combustible use of biodiesel and mixtures in vehicles
that had covered 1 million of kilometers more than. It is important
to stand out that this initiative, coordinated for the Secretariat
of Industrial Technology, counted on the participation of justinian
codes of research, automobolísticas industries and vegetal oils,
manufacturers of parts and lubricant producers and fuels. Although
they have been carried through some tests with biocombustíveis,
amongst which with biodiesel pure and a mixture of 70% of oil diesel
and 30% of biodiesel (B30), whose resulted they had evidenced the
viability technique of the use of biodiesel as combustible, the
raised costs of production, in relation to the oil diesel, had
hindered its use in commercial scale at that time. To put the
Brazilian government filed studies on alternative fuels, while the
Economic Community Européia invested, successfully, in the vegetal
alternative fuel research, between them the BIODIESEL of oil of
canola (colza), the substance used cousin more in the Europe.
In
Malaysia and the United States successful experiments with palm and
soy had been carried through, respectively. From 1986, the price of
the oil fell very. The prices had left to create pressure to save
energy and to increase the productivity. In Brazil, for some
reasons, including - the reduction of the prices of the oil and the
disinterest of the PETROBRAS, the activities of experimental vegetal
oil production diesel, had been paralyzed. If the program had not
been interrupted, today, with all certainty, would be independent of
fósseis and perhaps not so submissos fuels to international the
economic organisms. Decade of 90 The First Gulf War started in
August of 1990 with the attempt of Iraq to annex its Kuwait
neighbor. The United States, that until then were allies of Iraq
against the Irã, had decided to intervine in the region. With the
war, the Persian Gulf was closed and U.S.A. had lost two suppliers
of oil: Iraq and the Kuwait. The speculations on uncurling of the
war had taken the prices of the oil to go up to the next platform to
USS 40 current. With the surrender of Saddam Hussein, the prices of
the oil had come back to fall. In the end of the decade of 90 tests
in fleets of bus in Brazil with BIODIESEL (of soy) of U.S.A. had
been carried through, donated for the American Soybean Association
(WING). Future Effect greenhouse, war, development of the primary
sector and setting of the man in the field, makes with that the
investment in the research, production and spreading of biodiesel if
spread all for the country through fairs, meeting, seminaries, etc.
The current crisis of the oil is not resulted of the tensions
generated for some Arab countries in conflict with occidental
powers, but a problem of increase of the demand and lack of
supplies. The growth sped up in U.S.A., ally to the reheating of the
world-wide economy and to the low quotations that the product came
presenting in last the ten years, generated a strong increase of the
consumption of oil derivatives. The American institution World Watch
Institute, already foretold that Brazil will lead the nations of the
world to the side of the United States and the China as integrant of
the GE-8, superior good to the composed G-7 for the dominant rich
nations of this end of century in the hemisphere north.
