Sustainability of Sisal Cultivation in Brazil Using Co-Products and Wastes

This work evaluates the potential of co-products from sisal fiber extraction and of plant residues at the end of the productive life cycle and their upgrading into bioproducts and biofuels, focus on Brazil, and, specifically on the Sisal Identity Territory in the state of Bahia. Sisal co-products and residues are identified and quantified; Environmental and socio-economic indicators are applied. Energy potential and bioproducts from sisal in Brazil have been studied in universities and research centers, but not sufficiently quantified, so the scientific bases for this purpose are still limited. Considering an annual sisal fiber production in Brazil at 100,000 MT, and a 4% yield from the fiber extraction process, an estimated 2.4 million metric tons of products are thus generated by the defibering process, consisting of pulp, sisal tow, and juice. Furthermore, an estimated 900,000 metric tons per year of residual biomass from the stems at the end of the 10-year productive cycle is produced and presently left to rot in the field.