BRAZIL ETHANOL MARKET SURVEY PHOTOLOG 3

Pictures 1 and 2: Tom and I at a fueling station talking to the manager. Upon request, he tested a small sample of gasoline. All gasoline sold in Brazil (for any kind of Otto-cycle combustion engine - cars, boats, etc.) is required to have between 20% and 25% anhydrous ethanol. The exact amount is determined by government regulation and changes throughout the year, according to the supply of ethanol on the domestic market. Dishonest distributors and station owners, however, adulterate the product by adding ethanol above the legally-permitted limit (credit: Picture 1: Tom MacDonald).


Picture 3: In this case, the sample, which is always collected from the pump in the presence of the customer, contained 75% gasoline and 25% anhydrous ethanol, meeting government specifications.

From April to September 2007, I traveled around Brazil comparing the Brazilian and American biofuels market. In August I was joined by Tom MacDonald, senior alcohol fuels specialist with the California Energy Commission. All photos shown on Ethablog were taken during that time.

BRAZIL ETHANOL MARKET SURVEY PHOTOLOG 2

At the Ribeirao Preto branch of the Instituto Agronomico de Campinas (IAC), talking with ethanol consultant Marcelo Coelho (left), from E-machine Engineering, Procurement, and Construction, who kindly arranged the visit. Prof. Antônio Carlos Vasconcelos, one of the world's leading scientists in sugarcane genetic enhancement, stands in the middle. (Picture: Tom MacDonald)
The IAC keeps a living collection of all the sugarcane varieties ever grown in Brazil, from Saccarum officinarum, planted in the country since the 1500s, to the IACSP strains it is cultivating to provide higher sucrose content, better resistance to disease and pests, and superior adaptability to new soils and climates.

From April to September 2007, I traveled around Brazil comparing the Brazilian and American biofuels markets. In August I was joined by Tom MacDonald, senior alcohol fuels specialist with the California Energy Commission. All photos shown on Ethablog were taken during that time.

BRAZIL ETHANOL MARKET SURVEY PHOTOLOG 1

Picture 1: Swimming in the huge Balbina hydroelectric dam reservoir, 100 km northeast of Manaus, deep in the Amazon forest.

Picture 2: Dead trees from when the reservoir was created in the 1980s. The Brazilian government is planning two new dams on another river in a nearby state.

From April to September 2007, I traveled around Brazil comparing the Brazilian and American biofuels markets. In August I was joined by Tom MacDonald, senior alcohol fuels specialist with the California Energy Commission. All photos shown on Ethablog were taken during that time.