Sasol's 100% Synthetic Coal-to-Liquid Jet Fuel Takes Off

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--For the past nine years, Sasol (NYSE:SSL) (Johannesburg, South Africa), one of the world's leading synthetic fuel producers, has supplied a fuel mixture of a coal-to-liquid (CTL) component blended with kerosene derived from crude oil to international airlines operating from Johannesburg's OR Tambo International airport. The company announced that it has become the world's first company to receive international approval for its 100% synthetic CTL-derived jet fuel.

After several years of rigorous tests and evaluations, international aviation fuel authorities, including Britain's Ministry of Defense, governing the defense standard DEFSTAN 91-91, approved Sasol's synthetic jet fuel for commercial use in all types of turbine powered aircraft. Following the DEFSTAN 91-91 publication, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is expected to include the Sasol fuel in its ASTM D1655 specification. In accordance with the stringent regulation of the joint checklist, aviation stakeholders, including airframe, engine and ancillary manufacturers; airlines; and aviation authorities, such as IATA and relevant oil companies, have all participated in the approval process.

Sasol's CTL fuel technology will allow South Africa and other countries with substantial coal and natural gas reserves to secure domestic energy supply and monetize natural resources. The synthetic jet fuel can be used with conventional crude oil derived jet fueling systems. The approval also marks a significant development in the adoption of clean burning alternative fuels for the aviation industry. Because of its limited sulfur content, turbine emissions of Sasol's fuel are lower than those from crude oil-derived fuel.

The current approval covers jet fuel produced at Sasol's synfuels facility at Secunda, South Africa. But products from the gas-to-liquid plants in Qatar and Nigeria and proposed CTL projects in the U.S., China and India will also be submitted for approval. For related information, see March 13, 2008, article - Sasol Moving on Global CTL Project Studies from China to U.S.

Research is also underway at Sasol to find an effective process to produce synthetic fuel from biomass to further improve environmental sustainability.

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