Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
120 000
100 000
80 000
Total fuelwood
residential
charcoal production
industries
60 000
40 000
20 000
0
Figure 4.4. Total fuel wood in Brazil and final uses, 1970-2010, in 10 3 tonnes (EPE, 2011a).
4.3.1 Fuel wood and charcoal - traditional uses of biomass in Brazil
In the shadow of on-going modernization of forestry activities, which particularly involves exten-
sive plantations aimed at pulp and paper, traditional energy uses of forests remain significant in
Brazil. In fact, forests are an important source of biomass for energy, accounting for approxi-
mately 10% of Brazil's total energy supply. The most common is the use of forest residues as
firewood and charcoal production but there are also large extensions of eucalyptus plantations
dedicated to charcoal production for industrial use.
The production of fuel wood in Brazil amounted to 84 million tonnes in 2010. This indicates
an absolute decrease by almost one fifth in the use of fuel wood since 1970 (Fig. 4.4). One third
of the fuel wood is used for charcoal production, another third in industries such as ceramics
and the pulp and paper, and the other third is used domestically. Between 1970 and 2010, the
Brazilian population grew from94.5million to 190.8million. During the same period, the demand
for firewood for domestic use went down two thirds. This was possible due to the shift towards
other cooking fuels at the same time that the population also became more urbanized. The most
common fuel used for cooking in Brazil today is LPG but other uses may co-exist, for example
the use of charcoal for grilling which is a tradition in the country. Meanwhile, the use of fuel
wood has decreased significantly.
Almost twentymillion tonnes of fuel woodwere used to produce approximately 7million tonnes
of charcoal in 2010 (EPE, 2011a). The use of charcoal in Brazil is closely related to industrial
uses. Although charcoal is also used domestically and in agrarian applications, these uses have
been rather stable in recent years. Still, this translates into more than 2 million people depending
on charcoal for cooking, mainly in the northern parts of the country (Nogueira et al. , 2007).
The most important use of this energy source is found in metallurgical industries, particularly
the production of pig-iron, steel, and iron alloys. The use of charcoal is a unique feature of the
Brazilian iron and steel industry when compared internationally. Although charcoal has been
historically used in many countries for iron reduction, it has been gradually substituted by coke.
This substitution has also partially taken place in Brazil where integrated plants have shifted
towards imported coke particularly as a result of more recent expansion. Nevertheless, given the
fact that Brazil does not have coke and the fact that environmental control on native forests has
been lax in the past, charcoal was kept as a major energy input in non-integrated metallurgical
industries. Charcoal-based furnaces account for 25-30% of the total Brazilian production in the
sector (CGEE, 2010).
Figure 4.5 shows how the use of charcoal has developed in Brazil between 1970 and 2010 based
on official statistics and the consolidated energy balance (EPE, 2011a). Until 1985, the use of
charcoal increased rapidly in line with the expansion of the industry and exports of metallurgical
products. Brazil had a period of recession in the late 1980s and early 1990s during which pro-
duction and exports went down. There was significant recuperation after the turn of the century
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