Tereos invests more than R$20 million to expand the use of localized vinasse

Tereos, one of the leading companies in the production of sugar, ethanol and energy in the country, is investing around R$23,5 million in a project to expand the use of vinasse to fertilize its sugarcane fields, increasing it by around 40 thousand hectares application in the company's areas.

Vinasse, a sugarcane co-product generated from the manufacture of ethanol, mainly contains potassium, an essential nutrient for the development of sugarcane, as well as other nutrients in smaller quantities. Therefore, its application is an increasingly common practice for fertilizing plantations, enabling the correct disposal of waste.

Currently, all of the group's units rely on the application of localized vinasse. The technique allows 100% use of vinasse, as it offers greater application precision and flow control, ensuring greater quality in the operation.

According to Everton Carpanezi, Superintendent of Agroindustrial Operations at Tereos, the project was created with the aim of expanding alternatives and reducing the company's dependence on market solutions, in addition to placing the company in a more positive situation in a scenario of high of fertilizer prices, as seen recently. “The initiative also reinforces one of our main pillars, sustainability, by making the most of waste from our main raw material, sugar cane”, he adds.

For the success of the project, investments were made in different areas. In the agricultural area, the focus was on standardizing and optimizing applicator performance. Furthermore, the company invested in improvements to the vinasse loading and pumping structure, as well as strategies to reduce logistical bottlenecks in transportation. Finally, there was an expansion of the vinasse application structure through the acquisition of seven new application equipment, totaling 26 in the group.

In industry, efforts are aimed at ensuring vinasse with a higher concentration of potassium to optimize field applications, such as greater control of fermentation and wastewater separation.

“All these investments reinforce our concern in ensuring the sustainability of our processes and remaining competitive in the face of current challenges in the sector. We will continue to focus on finding the best solutions, in the field and in the industry, to achieve our objectives”, concludes Carpanezi.