FS confirms geological feasibility of BECCS project 

In Brazil, FS, a producer of ethanol and animal nutrition said it has just completed technical studies that prove suitable geological conditions for injecting carbon dioxide (CO2), emitted in the fermentation phase of biofuel production, in the subsoil. 

The firm said it could become the world’s first ethanol producer with a negative carbon footprint and the first to develop bioenergy production with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology in the production of ethanol outside the U.S.

The adoption of the technology will prevent the release of approximately 423 thousand tons of CO2 into the atmosphere per year by the industry’s operation in Lucas do Rio Verde. Subsequently, the solution can be implemented in other industrial units of the company, reaching a potential for removing CO2 from the atmosphere of more than 1.8 million tons of carbon per year.

“The technical study’s result is an essential milestone to encourage the next steps necessary to unlock investments in BECCS technology by the ethanol sector. Now what we need is the advancement of regulation and carbon trading markets”, said FS CEO, Rafael Abud. “In addition to utilization in automobiles, ethanol produced with the technology can be used to produce sustainable aviation fuel and marine fuel, making Brazilian ethanol increasingly one of the largest contributors to the world’s energy transition”, he added.

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