Sasol has submitted an appeal against a recent decision by SA’s national air quality officer to reject its request to use an alternative method to measure sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions at its Secunda boiler plant.
The energy and chemicals company approached the officer to request that SO2 emissions be measured by rate or load of emission rather than the concentration of particles.
But the national air quality officer, serving under the department of forestry, fisheries and environmental affairs, rejected the request in July.
In its appeal, Sasol maintains that a particular clause in the minimum emission standards regulations permits existing plants to be regulated on an alternative emission load, as opposed to the current concentration-based limit, which is based on the mass of pollutant per cubic metre of air emitted.
“Sasol is requesting that instead of reducing the SO2 per boiler (concentration), it will reduce (turn down) the total number of boilers (load) to achieve the same or better result,” it said.
According to Sasol, the solution it is proposing will achieve double the reductions on SO2 emissions (load-based) than would have been achieved when compared to an equivalent concentration as provided for in the minimum emissions standards.
This solution, the company said, would also reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and other pollutants emitted from the boilers, and achieve a 30% total load reduction in SO2 emissions by 2030.
Sasol plants have until April 2025 to comply with the Air Quality Act’s minimum emission standards, first introduced in 2010 and modified multiple times since 2017.
Sasol addressed the risk of noncompliance with the minimum emissions standards in its 2022 annual report, saying it could have a “material adverse impact” on its business and lead to fines, criminal charges or being asked to cease operations.
Sasol says it has spent R7bn on reducing harmful air pollution in the past seven years at its Secunda, Natref and Sasolburg plants. However, it still does not meet SO2 emission standards at its Secunda plant where 17 coal stations produce steam used in the production of petrol, diesel and electricity.
With Katharine Child
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