The sugarcane industry for a long time has focused only on the cane juice, its extraction and conversion to sugar. Bagasse was considered a residue and burnt inefficiently to generate steam and power. In the last decades, bagasse gradually started to be converted into energy in a more efficient way, supplying all the sugar industry energy needs (power, and steam) and, in some cases, significant excess electricity has been exported to the grid, becoming another important source of revenue. This motivated several studies of more advanced energy generation systems to boost energy exports. In more recent years, technologies called 2nd and 3rd generation have taken over the scene with many options, promising to convert biomass into more valuable products such as biofuels, chemicals, fertilisers, pellets, etc. Unfilled expectations and opportunities are rising. On the other hand, these technologies are competing for the same biomass, and this has to be considered. The industry has started to question ‘which way to go’, strategy and investment wise. The present study provides a broad scenario for the biomass availability, and its employment, with a close view to the main processes and products that might have an important role in the future of the biomass in the sugarcane industry.
