Sasol Integrated Report 2023 - Book - Page 56
INTRODUCTION
ABOUT SASOL
STRATEGIC OVERVIEW
CREATING VALUE
PERFORMANCE
GOVERNANCE AND REWARDS
SASOL CHEMICALS AT A GLANCE // CONTINUED
PROGRESSING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE SASOL
With an approach centred on partnership – coupled with innovation
derived from our talented employees, unique chemistry and
proprietary technology – Sasol Chemicals solves our customers’
biggest challenges and turns problems into opportunities.
Fighting fires – while protecting the environment
Changing how the world flies
Sasol Chemicals is developing optimised
catalysts to enable the scale-up of sustainable
aviation fuels (SAFs).
The aviation industry accounts for about 3%
of all human-made emissions. By 2050,
emissions from air transportation are expected
to grow to around 3,1 billion tons of CO2 annually.
Unlike other forms of transportation, however,
commercial aviation, with its long-distance
flights, cannot rely on electric power as a
significant energy source.
That is why Sasol Chemicals – together with
five German and South African partners –
is participating in a consortium known as
CARE-O-SENE, collaborating to develop optimised
catalysts to use in making green kerosene that
can transform the aviation industry.
As a global leader in Fischer-Tropsch (FT) catalysts
with more than 70 years of related expertise,
Sasol Chemicals is ideally positioned to enable
CARE-O-SENE to achieve its goal of significantly
increasing the process yield of green kerosene
by as much as 80% – producing more fuel with
ADMINISTRATION
the same resource input. The development
of novel FT catalysts will be instrumental in
converting green hydrogen and carbon dioxide
into commercial-scale synthetic fuels such as
SAFs.
In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,
SAFs derived from the FT-production process also
lower harmful nitrogen oxides, soot and
condensation trails from the jet engine
combustion process, which also contribute
to global warming. Importantly, the move to
synthetic SAFs will require only minimal changes
to the aviation industry’s infrastructure.
Transforming the fuel that airlines use every day
to keep the world moving will require teamwork
and innovation. Along with our partners in
CARE-O-SENE, Sasol researchers and scientists
in Brunsbüttel, Germany, and Sasolburg, South
Africa, are working to make that goal a reality.
The traditional foam products firefighters use
against industrial fires save lives and property.
But these foams contain toxic, fluorinated
surfactants that remain in the environment long
after the fire has been extinguished – in fact,
forever.
Now, thanks to an innovative fluorine-free
formulation developed by Sasol Chemicals’
research and development team in Lake Charles,
Louisiana, fire departments across the United
States may soon be able to switch to a more
sustainable and effective product.
customer to demonstrate the product’s
effectiveness in a field test and the foam was
pilot-tested by a fire department in California.
Fire protection foam is a new market for us and an
example of how working together with customers
to find innovative solutions to today’s challenges
can deliver benefits far beyond the bottom line.
In response to new rules phasing out older types
of foam, Sasol’s team developed a new product
in less than 12 months, combining both nonionic
and anionic surfactants to create a foam of equal
quality and volume as the old fluorine-based
options, without the lasting, harmful impacts to
the environment. We collaborated with a major
Market-based solutions for enhanced sustainability
Innovation that enables customers to operate
more sustainably is a key driver at Sasol Chemicals.
For example, Fischer-Tropsch waxes created by
our Polymer Additives group are helping producers
of building/construction products, automotive
parts and packaging achieve faster production
rates at lower temperatures, resulting in more
sustainable operations.
Polyvinyl chloride, commonly known as PVC,
is a key component of many building materials,
including piping for potable water transport, vinyl
siding and windows, and wiring and cable. Using
SASOLWAX as a processing agent enables PVC
manufacturers to improve production rates by
10% to 25% and reduce the amount of energy
used in manufacturing. In addition, polyolefin
manufacturers can lower processing
temperatures by 20 to 40 degrees Celsius,
depending on the end product, reducing
energy usage.
We are now collaborating with customers on
PVC-O, a new form of polyvinyl chloride that uses
50% less material to manufacture while being
stronger, more flexible and easier to install and
maintain than traditional PVC. PVC-O outperforms
all piping materials for the delivery of potable
water, and SASOLWAX B-52 is a key processing
agent in the manufacture of this next-generation
product.
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