Synfuels from coal: lessons from South Africa
The strategy for building SASOL plants reflects a commitment to long-range planning. The first plant, which represented a large investment for a moderate production capacity, was built to establish a technology for reducing South Africa's dependence on imported motor fuels. After the success of the plant, SASOL made plans for a larger plant, which had to be justified solely on economic grounds. At that time, petroleum crude was cheap and plentiful, and the second plant was cancelled. But when OPEC formed and the price of petroleum crude was increased, the South African government reconsidered the plans for another SASOL plant. Furthermore, because the cost of fuels produced at Sasol I proved to be significantly insensitive to inflation and future OPEC price increases were expected, SASOL projected that a new, larger plant should make a profit within a few years after its initial operation. But OPEC prices and inflation have risen even faster than anticipated, and the products of Sasol II sell at market prices. Therefore, the new plant will probably make a profit during its first year of operation. The attractiveness of Sasol II to South Africa was shown when a sudden decision was made in February 1979 to build a duplicate of Sasol II adjacent to it. Together, these plants should provide for half of South Africa's current consumption of motor fuels. These plants will reduce South Africa's international balance of payments problems not only by reducing the amount of imported fuels, but also by increasing the amount of exports from the plants' petrochemical by-products. Eventually this alternative fuel source will force a limit on the price of gasoline and diesel fuel there. SASOL uses an indirect process called Fischer-Tropsch. An advantage of indirect processing is that in the purification step, the environmentally harmful substances can be removed before the marketable products are formed.
- OSTI ID:
- 6515541
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
010405* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Hydrogenation & Liquefaction
AFRICA
ASHES
BY-PRODUCTS
CARCINOGENS
CHEMICAL EFFLUENTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COAL LIQUEFACTION
DIESEL FUELS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY POLICY
FISCHER-TROPSCH SYNTHESIS
FUELS
GASOLINE
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
INFLATION
LIQUEFACTION
LIQUID FUELS
MANAGEMENT
MUTAGENS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PLANNING
PRICES
PROCESSING
RESIDUES
SASOL PROCESS
SASOL-II PROCESS
SOUTH AFRICA
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
TRADE
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING