Co-products Papers
Spearheading sustainability in sugarcane processing through byproduct conversion into biochar for increased cane yields
Last Updated: junio 9, 2025Surplus bagasse from sugarcane factories and leaf residue left in the field remain untapped resources associated with the harvesting and processing of sugarcane. By reutilizing and converting these by-products into profitable materials, the industry can move further towards sustainability
Sugarcane and ethanol co-products for lactic acid production using a native bacterium from a Colombian biorefinery
Last Updated: junio 9, 2025This study assessed the vaporization of co-products from the industrial transformation of sugarcane and ethanol as part of the culture medium evaluated to produce lactic acid using the native LAB Lactobacillus plantarum, isolated from a Colombian biorefinery.
Technical and environmental impact of combustion of sugarcane harvest residues at an industrial scale
Last Updated: junio 9, 2025The Colombian sugarcane agro-industry produces approximately 5.3 Mt of sugarcane harvest residues (SCHR) annually, which could replace between 0.41 and0.54 t of coal per tonne of SCHR used, achieving a 96% reduction in GHG emissions. However, SCHR presents technical challenges due to its high potassium, chlorine, and sulphur content, which promotes fouling and corrosion on heat exchange surfaces.
Transforming waste into resources: the potential of sugarcane bagasse ash as a sustainable additive in manufacturing ceramic bricks
Last Updated: junio 11, 2025Sugarcane bagasse fly ash (SBFA) generated at Ingenio Pichichí was characterized to determine its potential as an additive in ceramic brick manufacturing and to promote the valorization of this waste. Ashes were characterized through physical, chemical, and mineralogical analysis using XRF and XRD to determine their composition and particle size.
Unveiling microbial diversity with metabarcoding: key to optimizing ethanol production
Last Updated: junio 9, 2025The presence of contaminating microorganisms in ethanol production processes generates negative impacts on efficiency, making it essential to identify the microbial species present, their relevance, and their locations to establish optimal control strategies.
Upscaling the production of potassium sulphate from stillage
Last Updated: junio 9, 2025Stillage contains considerable amounts of potassium, which has attracted its use for fertigation. The infrastructure that is needed for fertigation requires huge capital investment, so that only fields close to the ethanol plant benefit, albeit salinising the soil, and acidifying and destroying the conveyance infrastructure.
Valorization of sugarcane stillage by extraction of aconitic acid
Last Updated: junio 9, 2025Cane stillage or vinasse, a co-product of ethanol distilleries, contains 5-7 g/L of aconitic acid, a valuable trivalent carboxylic acid that is an important building block in organic synthesis. Vinasse also contains a variety of other organic compounds (e.g., organic acids, amino acids, colorants) and minerals (e.g., chlorides, sulphates), which make purification difficult.
Value-added products from vinasse
Last Updated: junio 11, 2025Environmental projects can now generate value-added products using different technologies, utilizing existing vinasse volumes and approaching zero-effluent models. These new technologies can use all the available vinasse or create mixed models that share vinasse with existing use options such as fertigation and composting.