Sasol Climate Change Report 2023 - Book - Page 32
INTRODUCTION
TRANSFORMING FOR RESILIENCE
GOVERNANCE
CLIMATE ADVOCACY AND POLICY
DATA AND ASSURANCE
ENERGY BUSINESS CONTINUED
Steam solutions (energy efficiency)
We are developing a suite of options to make and
save steam in our plants. The major focus is on
energy efficiency; additional steam production
solutions are key considerations in the development
of our roadmap. Novel options are being tested by
our Research and Technology (R&T) function
and options such as biomass boilers or process
electrification using renewable energy, as low
carbon steam solutions, are being investigated.
The complementary option of low-carbon steam
generation is a key enabler to transition our
feedstock mix and produce higher-value green
products in the long term. Heat integration is also
being explored. Although heat integration is a
known technology, we have not as yet been able to
implement this solution in our Synthol plants
because of technical integration challenges. We aim
to implement a demonstration unit before we roll out
at full scale. Sasol Energy is planning to pilot this
technology and is close to concluding the basic
engineering design for the heat integration
demonstration project at Secunda. For emission
reduction at our Sasolburg and Ekandustria
Operations, options are being evaluated to convert
steam-driven equipment to electric drives.
Electricity
We have negotiated over 600MW of renewable
energy PPAs, putting Sasol Energy on track to reach
its 2025 committed milestone. For further progress
on renewable energy procurement, see next page.
The role of gas
As mentioned, the implementation of increased gas
reforming capacity has been put on hold. However
the potential to introduce natural gas volumes as a
substitute for coal in the process continues to be
evaluated. Gas can play a critical role in further
decarbonising Secunda. While it is a fossil fuel, it
has a substantially lower carbon footprint than coal.
However, affordable gas remains a key supply factor.
Our natural gas from Pande/Temane is approaching
end of life and will start declining in 2026. We have
identified opportunities to extend the plateau to
2028. A fundamental part of our gas sourcing
strategy is exploration, both near-field (close to
our current fields) as well as in the region. We have
announced our recent success with PT5-C in
Mozambique. Although the supply of re-gasified
LNG is currently not economically viable; we
continue engagements with multiple suppliers to
discuss possible future supply.
Nitrous oxide abatement
Sasol has implemented nitrous oxide abatement at
Sasol Energy’s nitric acid plants. However, in the past
year, the catalysts, installed at the Secunda and
Sasolburg Operations nitric acid plants, have not
performed as expected due to technical challenges.
To avoid the erosion of further GHG reductions, the
catalysts’ performance is being closely monitored.
Investigations are also underway to understand the
root causes and improve catalyst efficiency, with
some improvements already seen in Sasolburg
during the latter part of 2023.
UNDERSTANDING SECUNDA’S GHG EMISSIONS //
Sasol’s coal-to-liquids (CTL) operations in Secunda
accounted for ~84% of the total global scope 1 and 2
emissions, reported on page 2.
OUR SECUNDA OPERATIONS’ GHG EMISSION SOURCES (AS PER 2017 BASELINE)
Feedstock
Built in the 1970s near large coalfields, Secunda’s CTL
processes limit the plant’s ability to significantly reduce GHG
emissions – unless we change the feedstock or find solutions
to capture and use concentrated carbon dioxide.
CTL is an energy-intensive process that produces synthetic
liquid fuels and chemicals from coal. Typically, coal is gasified
to produce synthesis gas which is then converted to liquid
hydrocarbons in a catalytic FT reaction. These hydrocarbons
(carbon monoxide and hydrogen) are processed into liquid
fuels and chemicals. The CTL process utilises a significant
portion of the carbon in the coal feedstock to produce grey
hydrogen and generate steam and electricity. As such, the
carbon efficiency of the current CTL process is inherently low.
Because of these limitations, further significant
improvements to Secunda’s GHG emissions profile will
require us to introduce low- and lower-carbon energy
sources (eg green hydrogen and gas, respectively). A
substantial part of our integrated GHG reduction roadmap
focuses on emissions from the utility block. Bringing in
low-carbon energy sources like renewable energy will not
only ensure the reduction of emissions but is a no-regret
move that puts us on a positive trajectory towards our
fossil-fuel- free vision.
1. The gas clean-up parts of the process that extract and emit GHGs to the atmosphere.
48%
FINE
COAL
GAS
ESKOM
ELECTRICITY
Boilers
Gas turbine
Substation
COARSE
COAL
GAS
Steam
of emissions from
utility block
Steam turbine generator
Major emission sources
Electricity
Synthetic gas
production
50%
of emissions from
process block
Feedstock
Direct emissions
Rectisol1
Flaring
Major emission sources
Indirect emissions
Benfield1
Other
2%
of emissions are
associated with nonproduction sources.
Products
Solvents and
specialty
gases
SASOL CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT 2023
31
Polymers
Fertilisers
Liquid fuels
Liquid
petroleum gas
(LPG)
Bitumen
Natural gas
Gas-to-power