Agregação de valor a subprodutos da produção de etanol: uma proposta de modelo de centro tecnológico para o Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

This research refers to studies on ethanol production on a small scale in Rio Grande do Sul State, south of Brazil. This context of ethanol production is unique, composed by small farms, small factories and cooperatives of small producers of sugar cane; due to its small scale and high production costs, ethanol produced in the state is not competitive with the rest of the country, and an option to try to make a change in this scenario would be the constant aggregation of value to the byproducts of ethanol production. In the production chain of ethanol are numerous the possibilities for research and innovation to add value, but for this to occur is necessary to carry out research and studies on these subject, and to leverage these studies, a model for a technological center for develop researches, develop coproducts, innovative products and processes seems to be a relevant step. Against it is this work which aims to develop a proposal for a technological center to add value to the byproducts of ethanol production in Rio Grande do Sul State. The work was developed using the methodology of Design Research, as a prescriptive way of work, the author's creative process is evident and, in an attempt to validate the results qualitatively, two rounds of evaluations with experts were performed. The result of the work is a framework that represents the technological center and a table with their functions, research and services. There aren’t presented the operational models for the center, leaving them for future work.