Sugarcane and palm-oil mill residues — vinasse, filter cake (press mud), bagasse, palm oil mill effluent (POME) and empty fruit bunches (EFB) — anaerobically digested, composted and returned to the field instead of raw discharge, open anaerobic lagoons, burning and mineral fertilizer

Replaces: raw discharge, open lagoons, burning, part of mineral fertilizer · Scope: sugar/ethanol mills, palm oil mills · Evidence: high

The chemical problem#

• Each litre of cane ethanol leaves 10–15 litres of vinasse, a hot, acidic liquid with a very high organic load and potassium content. Discharged raw, it destroys rivers; applied in excess, it salinizes soils and leaches nitrate.
• Palm oil mills treat POME in open anaerobic ponds, which emit large amounts of methane.
• Filter cake, bagasse ash, trash and EFB are often dumped or burned, while the same plantations buy mineral K, P and N.

Product overview#

1. Vinasse fertigation — controlled application on cane fields as a K and water source (Brazilian practice under state limits).
2. Vinasse biogas — anaerobic digestion before fertigation: methane for power or biomethane, lower COD in the digestate, same nutrients.
3. Filter cake (press mud) compost — rich in P, Ca and organic matter; composted alone or with vinasse, ash and bagasse into organic fertilizer.
4. POME biogas — covered lagoons or digesters capture methane for power or grid supply.
5. EFB/POME compost and biofertilizer — composting EFB with POME into a soil amendment returned to the plantation.
6. Bagasse — boiler fuel for cogeneration (see EN05), board and paper (Ledesma-type mills), and 2G ethanol.

Active ingredient / Composition#

• Vinasse: COD typically tens of g/L, K₂O several g/L, pH ~4–5.
• Filter cake: P₂O₅ 1–3 % (dry), Ca, organic matter.
• POME: COD tens of g/L; digested POME and EFB compost return N, P, K and organic matter.

Key facts#

Advantages#

• Turns the mill’s biggest pollution liability into energy and fertilizer.
• Cuts mineral K and P purchases on the estate.
• Biomethane and carbon credits add income (Brazil RenovaBio CBIOs; palm methane-capture credits).
• Keeps organic matter and nutrients on the plantation.

Mode of action#

• Anaerobic digestion converts organic load to methane, lowering COD and odour; K and P stay in the digestate.
• Composting stabilizes filter cake and EFB; returning them closes the nutrient cycle.
• Fertigation supplies K and water; soil microbes degrade the remaining organics.

Application#

Limitations#

• Over-application of vinasse raises soil K and nitrate leaching — dose by soil analysis and legal limits.
• Digesters need capital and stable operation (vinasse is seasonal and acidic).
• Transport limits how far vinasse and compost can go from the mill.
• Some mills still find raw disposal cheaper where enforcement is weak.

Evidence of displacement — D3: proven displacement at scale#

Assessment (hand-reviewed): National (Brazil): fertirrigation has been virtually the only management route for sugarcane vinasse since the mid-1970s (peer-reviewed), after river disposal was banned; biogas use of vinasse remains <2–5% of potential.

Verified figures (the number is in the quoted sentence and the sentence is on the source page):

• displacement — In the state of São Paulo, Brazil, the potential biomethane production from sugarcane vinasse could replace 26% of the annual diesel oil consumption or 69% of the overall natural gas consumption. (São Paulo, Brazil, 2024; peer-reviewed: mdpi.com)
• displacement — In Brazil, the potential biogas production from the sugar-energy sector is 41.4 billion m3 per year, but less than 2% of this is currently achieved. (Brazil, 2022; weak: ideas.repec.org)
• displacement — The global biogas industry is currently capturing approximately 2% of its total potential. (global, 2019; weak: bio-organic.com)
• displacement — An estimate for the USA shows that currently operating digesters on livestock farms represent approximately 3% of the 8,000 dairy and hog farms where such installations could be adopted. (USA, 2019; weak: bio-organic.com)

Industry pioneers — companies that commercialised this substitution#

Suppliers — real products and services (from the vendor index)#

Active vendors whose own card shows vinasse, filter-cake, POME or EFB valorization.

Government funding signals#

Scanned 2026-10-01 (OpenAIRE + NSF); candidates reviewed by hand.

Signal: not detected in NSF/OpenAIRE — industry- and policy-driven. “Vinasse” returned no candidates. The drivers are Brazilian state environmental rules on vinasse application, RenovaBio carbon credits, Malaysian and Indonesian methane-capture policy, and sustainability certification (RSPO, Bonsucro).

Scientific evidence#

• Christofoletti CA, Escher JP, Correia JE, et al. (2013). Sugarcane vinasse: environmental implications of its use. Waste Management 33: 2752–2761.
• Fuess LT, Garcia ML (2014). Implications of stillage land disposal: a critical review on the impacts of fertigation. Journal of Environmental Management 145: 210–229.
• Moraes BS, Zaiat M, Bonomi A (2015). Anaerobic digestion of vinasse from sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil: challenges and perspectives. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 44: 888–903.
• Wu TY, Mohammad AW, Jahim JM, Anuar N (2010). Pollution control technologies for the treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) through end-of-pipe processes. Journal of Environmental Management 91: 1467–1490.

Bioeconomy value#

Sugar and palm mills are the largest agro-industrial biorefineries in the tropics. Their residues are worth more as gas and fertilizer than as pollution, and both the mills and their technology suppliers are in this index.

Cross-links: EN01/EN02/EN05 energy; NU03 organic fertilizers; WC01 residue burning; BR01 platform chemicals.