Petrobras

Our goal is to develop technologies that guarantee global leadership in biofuel production

Biodegradable and less polluting, biofuels are produced from biomass and agricultural product derivatives such as sugar cane, oleaginous plants, and animal fat. They may be used both alone or added to conventional fuels.

By investing in biofuels, we reassert ourselves as a Company that is ahead of its time, committed to the concept of development in association with socioenvironmental responsibility. Our goal is to develop technologies that guarantee global leadership in biofuel production.

Biodiesel
Biodiesel is a generic denomination for fuels derived from oleaginous plants such as castor seeds, soy, peanuts and sunflower seeds, among others, in addition to from animal fat. It can be added to fossil diesel fuel, benefitting the transportation and power generation areas.

Biodiesel has countless environmental advantages, among which carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reductions, the absence of sulfur, and lower generation of polluting particles that form black smoke. In fact, a ton of biodiesel prevents the emission of 2.5 tons of CO2 to the atmosphere.

We are developing two biodiesel production routes: one based on vegetable oil and animal fat, and the other directly from oleaginous plant grains. We are deploying another three plants, which will produce 171 million liters of biodiesel per year.

Ethanol
Brazil is world-renowned for pioneering the introduction of a biofuel - ethanol (ethylic alcohol), produced form sugarcane – in its power matrix.

We were responsible for the world’s biggest renewable fuel use program, the “Proálcool,” which was kicked off in the 1970’s. This project allowed the addition of 25% ethanol in the gasoline, the removal of the led from the fuel, and generated major benefits, both for the environment and for the society.

Many countries are developing ethanol programs all over the world, among which the United States and European countries. In our 2008-2012 business plan, we set the goal of exporting 4.75 billion liters of ethanol and consider Japan as our main market for biofuel exports. In June 2007, we made our first export of ethanol with physicochemical characteristics that are appropriate for direct use by Japanese industries.