RENEWABLE RESOURCES • CASE STUDY Lifecycle assessment of fuel ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil Aldo Roberto Ometto & Michael Zwicky Hauschild & Woodrow Nelson Lopes Roma Received: 27 September 2008 / Accepted: 22 February 2009 / Published online: 18 March 2009 # Springer-Verlag 2009 Abstract Background, aim, and scope This paper presents the lifecycle assessment (LCA) of fuel ethanol, as 100% of the vehicle fuel, from sugarcane in Brazil. The functional unit is 10,000 km run in an urban area by a car with a 1,600-cm 3 engine running on fuel hydrated ethanol, and the resulting reference flow is 1,000 kg of ethanol. The product system includes agricultural and industrial activities, distribution, cogeneration of electric- ity and steam, ethanol use during car driving, and industrial by-products recycling to irrigate sugarcane fields. The use of sugarcane by the ethanol agribusiness is one of the foremost financial resources for the economy of the Brazilian rural area, which occupies extensive areas and provides far- reaching potentials for renewable fuel production. But, there are environmental impacts during the fuel ethanol lifecycle, which this paper intents to analyze, including addressing the main activities responsible for such impacts and indicating some suggestions to minimize the impacts. Materials and methods This study is classified as an applied quantitative research, and the technical procedure to achieve the exploratory goal is based on bibliographic revision, documental research, primary data collection, and study cases at sugarcane farms and fuel ethanol industries in the northeast of São Paulo State, Brazil. The methodo- logical structure for this LCA study is in agreement with the International Standardization Organization, and the method used is the Environmental Design of Industrial Products. The lifecycle impact assessment (LCIA) covers the following emission-related impact categories: global warming, ozone formation, acidification, nutrient enrich- ment, ecotoxicity, and human toxicity. Results and discussion The results of the fuel ethanol LCI demonstrate that even though alcohol is considered a renewable fuel because it comes from biomass (sugarcane), it uses a high quantity and diversity of nonrenewable resources over its lifecycle. The input of renewable resources is also high mainly because of the water consumption in the industrial phases, due to the sugarcane washing process. During the lifecycle of alcohol, there is a surplus of electric energy due to the cogeneration activity. Another focus point is the quantity of emissions to the atmosphere and the diversity of the substances emitted. Harvesting is the unit process that contributes most to global warming. For photochemical ozone formation, harvesting is also the activity with the strongest contribu- tions due to the burning in harvesting and the emissions from using diesel fuel. The acidification impact potential is mostly due to the NOx emitted by the combustion of ethanol during use, on account of the sulfuric acid use in the industrial process and because of the NOx emitted by the burning in harvesting. The main consequence of the intensive use of fertilizers to the field is the high nutrient enrichment impact potential associated with this activity. Int J Life Cycle Assess (2009) 14:236–247 DOI 10.1007/s11367-009-0065-9 A. Roberto Ometto (*) Department of Production Engineering, School of Engineering in São Carlos, University of São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São Carlense, 400, City Code 13566-590 São Carlos, SP, Brazil e-mail: aometto@sc.usp.br M. Zwicky Hauschild Technical University of Denmark, Produktionstorvet, Building 426, room 107, 2800 Kgs Lyngby, Denmark e-mail: mic@man.dtu.dk W. Nelson Lopes Roma Department of Hydraulics and Sanitation, School of Engineering in São Carlos, University of São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São Carlense, 400, City Code 13566-590 São Carlos, SP, Brazil e-mail: woodrow@sc.usp.br