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Agroindustrial best practices that contribute to technical efficiency in Brazilian sugar and ethanol production mills

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  • Lemos, Stella Vannucci
  • Salgado, Alexandre Pereira
  • Duarte, Alexandre
  • de Souza, Marco Antonio Alves
  • de Almeida Antunes, Fernanda

Abstract

The agricultural and industrial indicators that contribute to the efficiency of sugarcane mills were investigated in this study. A two-stage Data Envelopment Analysiswith output approach was applied to 271 mills for the data from the 2006/2007 season to the 2015/2016 season. The first stage consisted of the elaboration of two efficiency models using the total milling yield of the crop (t) and the amount of total recoverable sugars (t) as the input variables and the productions of sugar (t) and ethanol (m3) as the output. The second stage identified the production process variables significantly influencing the efficiency through multiple linear regression. In addition, with the help of sugarcane experts, ten variables related to the efficiencies of the agricultural and industrial processes of sugar and ethanol production, which contribute to the overall productivity of the sugar-energy units, and 40 best practices were developed to observe, improve, and control these indicators in order to increase the global efficiency of the agroindustrial production units.

Suggested Citation

  • Lemos, Stella Vannucci & Salgado, Alexandre Pereira & Duarte, Alexandre & de Souza, Marco Antonio Alves & de Almeida Antunes, Fernanda, 2019. "Agroindustrial best practices that contribute to technical efficiency in Brazilian sugar and ethanol production mills," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 397-411.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:177:y:2019:i:c:p:397-411
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2019.04.053
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    1. Lemos, S.V. & Salgado Junior, A.P. & Rebehy, P.C.P.W. & Carlucci, F.V. & Novi, J.C., 2021. "Framework for improving agro-industrial efficiency in renewable energy: Examining Brazilian bioenergy companies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    2. Cassiano Bragagnolo, & Almeida, Alexandre Nunes de & Chagas, André Luis Squarize, 2024. "Assessing Technical Efficiency in Wine Grape Production: The Case of South Brazil," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 12(2), April.
    3. Danelon, André Felipe & Spolador, Humberto Francisco Silva & Bergtold, Jason Scott, 2023. "The role of productivity and efficiency gains in the sugar-ethanol industry to reduce land expansion for sugarcane fields in Brazil," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    4. Thamine G. Rodrigues & Ricardo L. Machado, 2023. "Life Cycle Assessment of the Sugarcane Supply Chain in the Brazilian Midwest Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-18, December.

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