Sugarcane Plant

Today we visited Renuka Vale do Ivaí. It was located very close to our hotel,  just a few minutes away.  Renuka is the company that I did my presentation on in class before we left for Brazil. The company produces sugar, energy, and ethanol from their sugarcane crops. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures or videos of the industrial areas. It was another hard hat wearing day! Plus we were also given safety glasses and ear plugs to wear during the duration of our tour. 

Shree Renuka Sugars has four sugar cane companies in Brazil, two of which are located in Paraná state. The plant that we visited was originally opened in 1981 and solely produced ethanol. In 1993 the company added producing sugar to their duties. The company was purchased by Shree Renuka Sugars in 2010 and renamed at that time. There are about 300 employees working in 3 shifts at this plant, and  the nearby plant has about 200 employees in 3 shifts. This was the first company we visited that actually had a lot of female employees. The other places we visited were dominated by male employees.

Renuka ranks 5th in the world in sugar production.  They have a crushing capacity of 450 tons per hour, which is equivalent to 9 trucks per hour. Each truck has 3 loading boxes, so in my mind, it's more like 27 trucks an hour. The plant produces both hydrous and anhydrous ethanol. Anhydrous ethanol is mixed with gasoline which is what flex fuel vehicles in Brazil will run on. 

Renuka has a large environmental commitment which is what I like to hear. They are committed to the environment by managing their solid waste and effluents. There is basically no waste at the plant because everything is reused. For example, they take the sugarcane waste (vinasse) and use it to fertilize the cane fields. They also monitor their gas emissions.  Renuka is also committed to the environment by having partnerships with public plant nurseries. They also  maintain and replant the vegetation along riparian areas.  Another interesting environmental commitment is that they manage a private natural heritage reserve which includes 560 hectares of preserved forest. 

At the beginning of the visit we were showed a video from the tv show "How It's Made" that showed us the whole process from harvesting the sugarcane in the field to packaging sugar for consumer sale. Apparently sugar used to be called white gold because it was valuable and hard to come by. 

Renuka does a lot of testing at different stages to ensure the quality of their sugarcane. The company does have a few sugarcane suppliers in addition to growing and maintaining their own sugarcane farms. Their suppliers are paid based on the quality of the sugarcane that they bring in, so it is in their best interest to make sure that they are growing a high quality crop. 

Sugarcane needs high temperatures and plenty to rain to grow well. It takes about 1 year for the crop to grow until  it can be harvested. The same crops will be good for about 7 years before the field needs to be replanted.  A particular problem that can occur at Renuka is frost. This will damage their crops. Renuka is located right on the border of where the best sugarcane growing areas are located. 

We ended up having lunch on site at Renuka before we departed on a 6 hour drive to our next destination. Tomorrow should be a fun packed day! 

Boa noite!