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Chemicals and energy group Sasol said on Wednesday its application to have its sulphur dioxide emissions from boilers at Secunda judged on mass and rate rather than concentration has been denied, though it will be appealing to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
In June 2022, the group had applied to the National Air Quality Officer seeking to be regulated by a load-based emission limit, rather than a limit based on concentration promulgated in March 2020 under the Minimum Emission Standards (MES) of the Air Quality Act. This alternative regulation would be from the beginning of April 2025 onwards.
Sasol said in a statement that over the past five years it had spent more than R7 billion on emission-reduction projects at Secunda, Sasolburg and Natref, and had achieved MES compliance for 98% of its emission sources at these operations. The only remaining challenge was achieving the concentration-based limit for sulphur dioxide emissions from the boilers at Secunda.
Sasol is the largest greenhouse gas emitter in South Africa after Eskom, and its Secunda plant, where it produces synthetic fuel, is the largest single-site emitter in the world.
Sulphur dioxide causes irritation to the lining of the nose, throat and lungs, and can also cause environmental damage through acid rain.
The group said on Wednesday it remained committed to ambient air quality improvement, legal compliance, transforming its operations and reducing its environmental footprint in line with its strategy.
An integrated emission reduction roadmap involves the turning down of boilers, reducing coal usage and ramping up imports of renewable energy to 1 200MW by 2030.
“Sasol has already seen a reduction in emissions through the implementation of energy efficiency projects and is progressing the deployment of more than half of the committed renewable energy target from 2025 onwards,” it said.
Shares in Sasol, which is valued at over R150 billion on the JSE, were still trading about 1% higher on Wednesday afternoon.
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