CEO of ACRO is visiting the small-scale ethanol production line in CLAYUCA

ACRO is working with CLAYUCA for promoting small-scale cassava processing projects in rural areas, including one ethanol project and one flour project, using cassava as main feedstock.

 

Rural Social Bio-refineries (BIRUS)

Production and local use of hydrated ethanol to promote energy self-sufficiency, agriculture development and food security in marginal areas of Latin American and the Caribbean Region.

 

The approach developed by the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium to Support Cassava Research and Development (CLAYUCA) aims to a) the production of biofuel (hydrated ethanol) using cassava, sweet potato and sweet sorghum as raw materials and b) its use by local farmers communities located in resource-poor, marginal regions of Latin America and the Caribbean.

 

The raw materials used are improved varieties of cassava, sweet potato and sweet sorghum provided by the International Center for Tropical Agricultures (CIAT), the International Potato Center (CIP) and the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropical (ICRISAT), respectively.

 

The production of bioethanol is made through an innovation system, with low investment and easy to operate, in which the stages of hydrolysis and fermentation are performed simultaneously (HFS process), achieving significant savings of energy and time. To obtain the final products a distillation stage is used, which performs the separation of ethanol by evaporation. Ethanol vapors are captured and condensed, producing a hydrated ethanol with 95% purity and a liquid residue called vinasse.

 

The treatment of vinasses is done using a biopolymer technology to remove the organic content of the wastewater and then use this removed organic load to formulate products for use as animal feed and crop fertilizer.

 

Validated Uses of the Hydrated ethanol

 

The ethanol produced has been evaluated on different uses and equipments, such as stoves for cooking (clean cook stoves), fuel for cars, and stationary electric generators (bio-electricity). The access to electricity will allow those communities to operate motors and establish processing activities (drying, milling, etc), and five added value to their agricultural products and link to markets with better prices, thus obtaining higher incomes and improving their food security and quality life.

 

 

 Clean cook stove (bio-ethanol)

Power generator (bio-electricity)