Listed petrochemicals group Sasol (SOL) has commissioned its technologically advanced R1-billion new alcohol plant at Secunda in the Mpumalanga province the company said on Thursday.
The world-scale plant enables Sasol to have the most extensive portfolio of alcohols in the world, marking yet another milestone in its quest to capture a larger share of the international chemicals market.
Sasol CEO Pieter Cox said: “I view with great satisfaction the completion of our new alcohols plant. This plant, now fully operational, will add an annual capacity of 120 000 tons of C12 to C15 Alcohol for supply to international customers.
“The project forms part of Sasol’s overall corporate growth strategy to add further value to feed-streams that are available from its oil-from-coal processes. It has enabled us to get into export markets and through that to establish many global relationships which consolidate our presence in international markets.”
The alcohol plant is operated by Sasol Olefins and Surfactants (O&S), a division of Sasol Chemical Industries. Alcohols are used as building blocks for surfactants, industrial chemicals and performance chemicals and the new alcohol will be marketed under the name SAFOL.
The decision to build the new plant was announced in October 1999 when Sasol reached an agreement with Davy Process Technology (DPT) to license its Low Pressure Oxo process technology to enable the production of alcohols from the longer-chain alpha olefin components available.
Sasol O&S manufactures a broad range of products for the surfactant and chemical intermediate markets. Manufacturing sites are mainly in Europe, South Africa, and the US and products are delivered worldwide. – I-Net Bridge