With the gradual reduction in harvest burning, the straw derived from raw sugarcane harvest has become a focal point for researchers and producers alike. The advantages of retrieving, recovering and using this straw have motivated university researchers and sugar mill managers and directors to find the most productive, economic and efficient way to carry out such process. The retrievement of the straw is done in four phases: first it is joined and later bundled by a compacting machine, it is then loaded into trucks and finally transported to the processing center. The feasibility of using this residue in order to generate energy is linked to the cost and the energy balance, that is, the difference between energy generated by the biomass and the energy used in the process. In this work, it is proposed the use of mathematical techniques to assist in choosing the sugar cane varieties to be planted in order to optimize the residual biomass energy balance and minimize the cost in collecting the biomass and carrying from the field to the production center, in addition to satisfying the main needs of the mill.
mathematical model; residual biomass; sugarcane
