Sasol today announced that construction of a 100 000 tons per annum 1-Octene plant in Secunda in South Africa was underway. The facility is scheduled to go into production during the second half of 2007 and will double Sasol's existing 1-Octene output to 200 000 tons a year.
Technology group Linde AG was awarded the “detail engineering, procurement and construction” contract.
“This new facility comes on the back of growing global demand from plastics manufacturers for this hydrocarbon molecule that, among others, gives special performance features such as elasticity, flexibility, impact resistance and strength to plastic consumer products,” says Sasol deputy CE Trevor Munday.
The new plant is the third 1-Octene facility to be constructed by Linde AG. Two 1-Octene plants with a combined capacity of about 100 000 tons a year are currently operated by Sasol. The new plant will be the sixth Alpha Olefin Plant that Linde AG will be erecting within Sasol's Secunda complex, which is situated approximately 150 km east of Johannesburg.
"Linde and Sasol started their business and technology cooperation more than 50 years ago. The two companies have through the years perfected their integration between R&D, pilot plant, engineering and project execution teams. The Alpha-Olefins venture, which began 15 years ago, is a unique success story and this project is only the last element of a long chain. Linde is very proud to be associated with this great South African enterprise," says Dr Aldo Belloni, member of the executive board of Linde AG, and responsible for the business segment, Gas and Engineering.
Sasol is a leading producer of products such as octene, pentene and hexene for use as chemical intermediates in the production of plasticizer alcohols, polymers, polyethylene, fatty acids, detergent alcohol and lubrication oil additives.
Octene is often used in combination with hexene and pentene to engineer a host of specific characteristics such as strength, thinness, elasticity and puncture resistance in products ranging from dense and durable plastic for wire coatings, automotive interiors, raincoats and strong garbage bas to low-density, high-quality shopping baSasol will introduce its new suite of Sasol turbo™ cleaner fuels in January 2006. This is in line with government’s cleaner fuels drive which calls for the elimination of lead in petrol and the reduction of sulphur levels in diesel in an effort to curb urban air pollution levels.
New at the pump at all inland Sasol Convenience Centres (SCCs) will be Sasol turbo™ unleaded 93 and Sasol turbo™ unleaded 95, while Sasol turbo™ unleaded 95 will be on sale in coastal regions. Sasol turbo™ LRP 93 lead replacement petrol will be available inland and Sasol turbo™ LRP 95 in coastal regions.
The company will also introduce Sasol turbodiesel™ ULS (ultra low sulphur) with a maximum sulphur content of 50 parts per million (ppm) at all SCCs and will continue to sell 500 ppm Sasol turbodiesel™ at Exel service stations.s, cling-wrap film and myriad related consumer plastics.
| Inland Grade |
R93 Lead Replacement |
R93 Unleaded |
R95 Unleaded |
Diesel 500 ppm S |
Diesel 50 ppm S |
| Sasol Name |
turbo LRP |
turbo unleaded 93 |
turbo unleaded 95 |
No product |
turbodiesel ULS |
| Exel Name |
LRP 93 |
Unleaded 93 |
Unleaded 95 |
turbodiesel |
No product |
| Coastal Grade |
R93 Lead Replacement |
R93 Unleaded |
R95 Unleaded |
Diesel 500 ppm S |
Diesel 50 ppm S |
| Sasol Name |
turbo LRP |
No product |
turbo unleaded 95 |
No product |
turbodiesel ULS |
| Exel Name |
LRP 93 |
No product |
Unleaded 95 |
turbodiesel |
No product
|
“This latest range of fuels has been developed, tested and proven by our dedicated team of scientists. Sasol is the only oil company in Sub-Saharan Africa with world class fuel research facilities at altitude and sea level. We have wholly owned fuel research facilities at Sasolburg and in Cape Town where we develop fuels under local conditions for South African drivers,” says Sasol CE Pat Davies.
“In 2000, Sasol introduced South Africa’s first lead replacement petrol in the form of Sasol dualfuel™, an innovative fuel that could be used in vehicles using either leaded petrol or unleaded petrol,” says Davies.
From January 2006 Sasol dualfuel™ will be replaced with the company’s new lead replacement petrol, Sasol turbo™ LRP 93 inland and Sasol turbo™ LRP 95 in coastal regions.
With the introduction of lead replacement petrol, white vehicle tailpipes will be a thing of the past. The white deposit is often wrongly assumed to indicate good engine condition, but is in fact lead-oxide deposit.
As the leader in the production of low-sulphur diesel, Sasol will set the industry benchmark with the introduction of Sasol turbodiesel™ ULS. This ultra low sulphur diesel contains a maximum sulphur content of 50ppm which is far lower than the required maximum level of 500ppm.
Reducing the sulphur content of diesel minimises exhaust black smoke and other particulate emissions. These particulates form when sulphur burns which creates corrosive sulphate compounds that combine with unburnt hydro-carbon compounds. The particulates are either emitted as black exhaust smoke or are caught in the crankcase oil. Sasol has successfully proven that by using ultra low sulphur diesel, engine wear is radically reduced and oil drain intervals are extended by up to five times.
Unleaded petrol was first introduced to South African by Sasol in 1996. At present more than 85% of the South African vehicle population can use unleaded petrol, but less than 50% of vehicle owners choose to do so.
There is a strong belief among many South Africans that vehicle performance loss is experienced when switching from leaded to unleaded petrol. Sasol research has shown that engine friction is responsible for energy losses of up to 38%. To combat this problem Sasol turbo™ unleaded contains a friction modifier that actively combats engine friction levels ensuring optimum engine efficiency, smoother performance and longer engine life.
To find out more about Sasol’s cleaner fuels for a cleaner environment visit,
www.sasol.com
