Abstract

This article presents a mathematical model and the evaluation of different scenarios related to the estimation of the trend of water consumption in the bioethanol production process in Colombia. The model was established with the system dynamics methodology, which allowed us to represent the main variables of the bioethanol production chain and the linkage of water consumption per hectare and per liter of bioethanol produced. The information for the construction, validation, and calibration of the model was obtained from the National Federation of Biofuels. Technical strategies for saving water consumption were evaluated, and it was evidenced that without them, water consumption will continue to increase, due to the increase in production in Colombia.