Life cycle assessment of the sugarcane bagasse electricity generation in Brazil

This paper aims to identify and quantify the main potential environmental impacts of the sugarcane bagasse electricity generation in Brazil. To do so, it was employed the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) technique based on primary and secondary data from three previous studies encompassing electricity generation, transmission and distribution processes. It was identified that the main impact potentials of this type of electricity generation in Brazil that should be addressed by decision-makers are the photochemical ozone, the human toxicity via soil and the nutrient enrichment ones, which are caused mainly by the sugarcane straw burning prior harvesting and the chemical application. In addition, it was found that non-renewable resources, renewable resources and energy consumption are also important issues that should be addressed mostly in the process of electricity transmission.