International Journal of Research in Environmental Studies
ISSN: 2059-1977
Vol. 3(1), pp. 1-10, February 2016
doi.org/10.33500/ijres.2016.3.001



Estimated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the use of intermodal transportation in sugarcane industry: An application of linear programming

Maria Andrade Pinheiro and José Vicente Caixeta-Filho*

Titular Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" (ESALQ), Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Pádua Dias, 11 CEP 13418-900 - Piracicaba, SP - Brasil.

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jose.caixeta@usp.br.

Received 12 January, 2016; Received in revised form 05 February, 2016; Accepted 15 February, 2016.

Abstract


Keywords:
Greenhouse gas emission, Intermodal transport, Sugarcane industry.


The level of concern about global warming is increasing worldwide, leading governments and environmentalist organizations to intensify research and take measures aimed at minimizing the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. In Brazil, the transportation sector is the second most energy-intensive sector. Although most goods are delivered to the ports by rail, a combination of transportation modes could be employed. Among the overland modes, road transportation produces the most CO2 emissions, followed by transport via railway, waterway and pipeline. The sugarcane industry is a major generator of foreign exchange for the country. In 2010, revenues, were R$50 billion and exports were R$24.3 billion. Given the significant contribution that the transportation sector makes to greenhouse gas emissions and the important role that a change in transportation mode may play in reducing those emissions; this study was aimed at estimating the reduction in CO2 emissions achieved by changing the transport network used in the sugarcane industry and to determine the impact of infrastructure projects implemented by the Brazilian government. The findings of this research indicate that, over a 3-year period, such a change could reduce CO2 emissions by 6.6 million tons of CO2 and result in a savings of approximately R$3.3 billion.

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