2.2 Agro-industry

The area of agro-industrial businesses aims, among other goals, at maximizing the value of the agro-industrial business, developing the biofuel business according to the Strategic Plan and increasing the value of the ANCAP brand.

It also aims to lead and promote research and development activities.

In that regard, ANCAP signed an agreement with the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay (LATU) in order to jointly install a research center for second generation biofuels. During this period we worked in the design of the installations and we have made structural adaptations in two units of LATU's main building. The basic equipment was acquired in order to develop, as of 2016, research and development projects regarding issues related to second and third generation biofuels, under the concepts of bio-refinery.

These installations will allow the generation of capacities to identify and engage new technologies and improvement opportunities within the business of biofuels. They will also diminish the risks if said technologies are implemented within ANCAP and/or ALUR, in addition to being a center where ANCAP can develop new products and evaluate new business associated to the agro-fuels supply chain.

We continued with the monitoring of the execution of the research projects carried out through the ANCAP-UdelaR agreements (fourth and fifth sessions):

• Production of liquid biofuels through hydrothermal liquefaction of forest waste.
• Synthesis gas obtained from the catalytic gasification of forest waste.
• Production of bio-butanol fuel from sugar cane and sweet sorghum (finalized).
• Evaluation of viable microalgae oil in the region for the production of biodiesel.
• Mitigation of damage caused by pest birds in agro-energetic crops (Sunflower and Sorghum)
• Evaluation of different perennial gramineae as bionergetic crops in Uruguay.

We followed up on crops used for biofuels by ALUR, as well as some indicators regarding the agricultural and industrial production of the undertakings of Alcoholes del Uruguay S. A. in Bella Unión, Paysandú and Montevideo.

We continued work in technological vigilance regarding biofuels issues for which trainings were carried out and we participated in seminars regarding issues related to algae, first generation ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, bio-refineries, energetic crops (rapeseed, soy, sunflower, etc.), sweet sorghum, biogas, biofuel markets, among others.

Lectures where given in seminars and exhibitions, the course about fuel ethanol was re-edited for ANCAP operators (in the Logistics area) and we continue to collaborate in educational aspects by supporting educators and students on issues related to biofuels (primary schools, secondary schools, University of the Republic, UCUDAL, ORT, IEEM), including technical support to master and doctoral students writing their thesis on topics related to biofuels.

For 2016, we plan on initiating the laboratory of research and development of second generation biofuels, as of the arrival of the main team of continuous biomass pretreatment. This means that in the future we will have to carry out research related to the availability of biomass for energetic purposes.