Farmer invests in the largest wheat ethanol plant in Rio Grande do Sul

CB Bioenergia, owned by Cassio Bonotto, invested R$ 110 million in the plant, which is located in the municipality of Santiago and will enter operation in December.

Wheat is a sensitive cereal, and any rain or drought during a critical period can break production or affect its quality. After decades of suffering from this reality, which often led to losses, one of the biggest farmers in Rio Grande do Sul decided to solve the problem. Cassio Bonotto chose to build the largest wheat ethanol plant in the state.

With investments totaling R$ 110 million — R$ 75 million from his own and financed resources, and R$ 35 million through tax incentives — CB Bioenergia will enter operation in December in the municipality of Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul. The plant has the capacity to process 30,000 tons of wheat per year, 25% of Bonotto's average production per harvest.

'Wheat that is not classified as perfect for producing bread flour loses 30% of its value, and we are forced to export it for use in animal feed. It’s a loss,' states Bonotto.

'About ten years ago, I saw that in the Midwest, they built corn ethanol plants to use up the excess production. I thought about doing the same with my own wheat, and I put it into practice,' he recounts.

Trajectory

Grandson of Italian immigrants and son of a farmer from Santiago, Bonotto started his own production in 1993 on 80 hectares. Today, he cultivates 53 thousand hectares of soybeans during the summer harvest and 42 thousand hectares of wheat in the winter, across an area covering seven municipalities.

'Here in the region, we have a saying: it’s bad to plant wheat, but worse not to plant it. With this sensitivity to climate, between 20% and 25% of the wheat in Rio Grande do Sul is unsuitable for mills every harvest,' the producer states.

He harvests an average of 120,000 tons of wheat per harvest and plans to continue supplying 75% of that total to the mills. Whatever is classified with a PH below 78 kilograms will be directed to the ethanol plant. PH, or hectoliter weight, is the mass of 100 liters of wheat expressed in kilograms. This measurement involves evaluating various characteristics of the grain, such as its shape, size, weight, and external characteristics, like the presence of straw, dirt, and other impurities.

CB Bioenergia’s project, which has ambitious goals, foresees that 50% of the processed wheat will become hydrated ethanol for agricultural aviation, 25% will become cereal alcohol for the cosmetics and food industries, and 25% will be bottled as alcohol gel. The unit's production capacity is 13 million liters of ethanol annually.

'Initially, the idea was only to produce ethanol for aviation, because 50% of the state's fleet uses this fuel and it’s all imported from other regions, but studies showed that cereal alcohol is much more profitable,' the businessman reports.

In the wheat fermentation process, the plant will also produce CO₂, which will be bottled in cylinders and commercialized with welding industries for metalworking and soft drink companies. The expectation is to reach 20 thousand cubic meters per day.

DDG

The processing will also generate DDG (Dried Distillers Grains) as an ethanol co-product. This meal, with a 35% protein content, is highly valued as an ingredient in animal feed in both the domestic and international markets.

Detail-oriented, Bonotto affirms that he already has pre-negotiated contracts for the sale of all types of ethanol manufactured, CO₂, and DDG.

The company’s future plans also include selling DDG for the production of hydrolyzed protein (used in food supplements like whey protein).

'Large ethanol plants earn cents per liter produced. Mine, being small, needs to add reais per liter to be profitable,' he argues.

According to Bonotto, the unit can process, besides wheat, any cereal that contains starch, such as rice and triticale. It only requires changing the enzyme that breaks down the molecules, he adds.

In addition to CB Bionergia, other companies have invested in wheat ethanol in Rio Grande do Sul. Be8 is building a unit in Passo Fundo, and FZ Bioenergia is building one in Viadutos. Projects from Timbro Trading, the Canex group, and Nexus are still on paper.

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