Diversification continues to be high on the agenda for the Guyana Sugar Company [GuySuCo]. This is according to its Senior Communications Officer, Ms. Audreyanna Thomas.
For instance she disclosed that the sugar company has in operation a bio-ethanol plant which has been operating continuously during the cropping period at the Albion estate. It is also important to note that the bio-ethanol plant at the Albion Estate is a demonstration plant and not a commercial producer, Thomas has noted.
Ethanol is produced directly from sugarcane by fermentation of cane juice or from final molasses. The yield of ethanol from cane juice depends on the content of fermentable sugars. It has been noted that a number of ill-informed exponents of ethanol, tend to project the yield of ethanol from sugarcane as 80 to 85 liters per ton of sugarcane, however, this high yield is obtained in the Center- South of Brazil where conditions favour high accumulation of sugars and pol in cane is in excess of 14%.
Similar conditions are reportedly found in Australia, and Southern Africa.
But according to Thomas, the sugar cane sugar contents in Guyana are similar to the North East of Brazil where average pol in cane rarely exceeds 11-12%. The yield of ethanol from these canes will not exceed 70 liters per ton of cane. Ethanol production from molasses is of the order of 260 liters per ton.
By using the Brazilian Index as a guide, the parity price advantage for fuel ethanol production over sugar at the current World market price of US $0.29/Kg should require better than US$0.48 per liter or US$ 1.86 per gallon, according to Thomas. She added too that an essential point to note is that the feasibility of any venture is dependent on the cost of the raw material and unfortunately the present costs of production for sugarcane in Guyana is unfavourable for the production of either sugar or ethanol. Hence, the Corporation’s present emphasis on improving efficiencies and productivity in Agriculture.
Given the above considerations, it is clear that should fuel ethanol production emerge as a feasible consideration for GuySuCo, the preferred raw material would continue to be molasses. The annual Molasses production over the past five years, Thomas disclosed, is approximately 105,000 tons. This includes the output from all Estates.
GuySuCo currently has commitments to supply 40,000 to 60,000 tons of molasses to one of its customers. This could suggest that 45,000 tons of molasses could be available for fuel ethanol and this quantity of molasses would only produce 11.7 million liters of fuel ethanol.