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Searching to reduce oil dependency and in the quest for a more ecological fuel, Brazil is the world’s biggest ethanol producer and has the planet’s lowest production costs for the fuel. As a result of this scenario, several countries are interested in adding ethanol to their gasoline, in order to mitigate polluting gas emissions, something that has been done in Brazil for 30 years at a current percentage of 25% of the gasoline that is marketed.

In the 1970’s, Petrobras, together with the sugar and ethanol sector and the Federal Government, drove the world’s biggest renewable fuel use program, the Proálcool. This project allowed the addition of 25% ethanol to gasoline, generating major benefits to the Brazilian society.


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» Pilot Ethanol Production Project based on family farming in Rio Grande do Sul.
  Petrobras, in partnership with Cooperbio (the Mixed Biofuel Production, Industrialization and Marketing Coop of Brazil), has been developing a pilot ethanol production project based on family agriculture in the State of Rio Grande do Sul since October 2006. The agreement foresees the installation of nine micro-distilleries and one central rectifier in 2007. The farmers will provide raw material to produce biofuel and will be responsible for operating the micro-distilleries.

The ethanol produced by the micro-distilleries will be refined at the central distillery to attend to the National Petroleum, Gas and Biofuel Agency (NPA) specifications. The project’s main characteristic is that the micro-mills located in northeastern Rio Grande do Sul will have diversified production – in consortium with food good production. It will be possible to produce ethanol based on other raw materials, such as manioc, for example.