Viralcool is concerned with the well-being of its employees and is always thinking about adaptations and continuous improvements, carrying out a meticulous process in relation to the issue of the potability of water for human consumption. By doing so, it monitors and follows strict procedures based on applicable legislation on the best ways to take care of its water and the reservoirs that are stored, both for the consumption of its employees and for the industrial process.
The conscientious use of water resources is characteristic of the company that makes sustainability the pillar for technological development. The industrial plant consumes only 0.78 m³ per ton of crushed sugarcane. For this, automatic control valves are used to maintain the level of the water tank necessary for use in the industrial area. The measurement is carried out by a hydrometer. The water to wash the gases from the Boilers works in a closed circuit with the use of a Soot Decanter, where the soot, sand and earth pass through a filter press to remove excess water and are taken by dump trucks for farming, with the water used in this process returns to the gas scrubbers. Evaporation condensate is used in broth regenerators (using energy), cleaning equipment, soaking mills and mainly in boilers for steam production.
In order to use water efficiently, the company installed a filtration and sedimentation system, whose function is to remove, in an orderly manner, the soot from the boilers, along with the sand and earth brought in with the sugarcane and the residues from the treatment of effluents are intended for fertirrigation in crops. With the same objective, cleaning is also carried out, that is, the washing of areas, such as the floor of the mills, Desmi, Fermentation Vats, Centrifuges and for this, an average of 5.05m³/h of water is consumed, which is subsequently are sent to vinasse tanks for fertirrigation.
All the sugarcane received for processing passes through the dry cleaning system, which passes through the feeder table with the removal of straw and soil, through an oblong plate, where it is sent by conveyor belts to a silo and then loaded onto trucks for the crop at vegetable and mineral impurities present in the raw material. The main advantage of the method is the saving of water, which is normally used for washing sugarcane.
Viralcool manages the planting of tree seedlings in permanent preservation areas and around the sources of streams and rivers, thus protecting riparian forests. For this, it has its own seedling nursery for native and fruit trees with capacity to produce 5,000 seedlings. It also collaborates with neighboring municipalities, making donations of seedlings for municipal reforestation and donations to suppliers.
Mechanized harvesting is used in 100% of the production area, its use guarantees the quality of the raw material and eliminates the burning of sugarcane as a straw removal method. In the field, it is this method that allows the straw to remain on the ground, which makes no-tillage more effective. And so, choosing sustainable methods and techniques, the cycle is closed, making planting possible.
To preserve it, the company adopts conservationist principles, such as: direct planting; level curves; elimination of furrows and depressions in the ground; soil acidity and fertility correction; and unpacking and terracing.
A rotação de culturas consiste em alternar espécies vegetais numa mesma área agrícola. Bem planejado, o sistema melhora as características físicas, químicas e biológicas do solo; auxilia no controle de plantas daninhas, doenças e pragas; repõe matéria orgânica e protege o solo da ação dos agentes climáticos.
In this system, adopted in 95% of the company's planting area, the straw is kept on the soil surface, ensuring coverage, greater water retention, incorporation of nitrogen, protection against erosion, against compaction and less loss of nutrients.
Biological pest control seeks to harmoniously integrate the fight, aiming at economic, social and environmental improvements by reducing the use of chemical agricultural defensives. The company applies integrated pest management, using the wasp "Cotesia flavipes" to control the sugarcane borer.
Gradually, the company's heavy fleet is being renewed and the fuel is S10 diesel, reducing sulfur emissions by up to 90%, lower emissions of recycled material and a reduction in the emission of white smoke, while the light fleet is all ethanol, this produced from sugar cane, being much less polluting, reduces the emission of gases responsible for the greenhouse effect by about 89%, compared to gasoline.
A constant concern is the fires, mainly accidental, that devastate agricultural and environmental preservation areas. To combat them, the company created the PAM – Mutual Assistance Plan for the Agricultural sector between the Plants and the Environmental Police in the region, which aims to establish a way of coordinating efforts and resources to be combined for the benefit of the parties, aiming at supplement necessary human and material resources, in order to ensure greater efficiency in the response against forest fires, in sugarcane plantation areas, as well as in the vegetation areas integrated or contiguous to them, avoiding or mitigating risks and damages to people , the environment, sugarcane crops and heritage in general.
Energy, in fact, moves the world, it feeds all our activities. There is not just one person responsible here: the solutions are to be found in the joint efforts of all. The entire company is powered by the energy it produces, generated from sugarcane bagasse. The abundant and renewable raw materials make the production process attractive from an economic and environmental point of view. Therefore, the company is also certified with the Green Energy Seal, for companies that produce and consume clean and renewable energy.
Viralcool is concerned with the correct and sustainable disposal of its waste, which includes contaminated solids and liquids, used light bulbs and batteries, electronic waste and empty packaging. The company performs selective collection, separates used lubricating oil and has signed commitments for the conscious disposal of outpatient waste. With these actions, Viralcool won the Certificate for Handling Waste of Environmental Interest issued by CETESB.
Viralcool is a company committed to the environment and the sustainable production of biofuels from sugarcane. Thanks to this concern, the company has won several important environmental seals over the years, such as Etanol Verde and Etanol Mais Verde, which encourage the sustainable production of biofuels. In addition, Viralcool is certified with the Selo Energia Verde and with the RFS2, which allows the sale of its Ethanol in the United States. And the most recent certification is RenovaBio, which consolidates the company's sustainable processes, from soil preparation to the distribution of ethanol to the final consumer, allowing Brazil to be an example of innovation and sustainability in the energy transition.
