Sugarcane processing by-products for bioethanol production in the Philippines: a retrospective assessment from 2007 to 2017 and future challenges

Abstract

Sugarcane has been tapped as a source of sugar and molasses for the production of bioethanol in the Philippines. The increasing demand in bioethanol due to the rising consumption of gasoline, the surplus sugar and molasses would not be able to meet future demands. In the harvesting and processing of sugarcane, residues like that of sugarcane leaves (SCL) and sugarcane bagasse (SCB) are generated. These residues are composed of sugar-based fibers, which may be utilized in producing bioethanol. Despite sugarcane residues being among the abundant crop residues generated, assessment on their potential for bioethanol production have been scarce. An initial assessment of the potentials of utilizing SCL and SCB produced in the Philippines and their contribution when utilized as raw material for bioethanol production is provided in this work. The geographical scenario of the Philippines was also taken into consideration. The limitations that could potentially be brought about by the competing use of available resource for bioenergy generation are also discussed. It is hoped that this work will provide a simple approach in providing or generating quantitative baseline information for consideration in future policies to avoid potential competition and emphasize on the need for appropriate allocation of available resources.

Keywords:

• Bioenergy
• bioethanol
• sugarcane bagasse
• sugarcane leaves
• molasses

Acknowledgements

The authors, A.W.G. and A.E.A., would like to thank National Taiwan University of Science and Technology for the teaching and research start-up grant provided for the year 2019–2021. In addition, J.W.A.O. and A.S.T. would like to acknowledge DOST-ERDT for the scholarship grant provided.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.