Abstract
M.Phil. (Energy Studies)
South Africa has no commercially proven indigenous crude oil deposits.
The country therefore follows a well formulated longterm energy policy to
ensure a continuous and uninterrupted supply of transport fuels. The
development of a very successful synfuel industry contributes to the national
desire of maintaining a minimum level of self sufficiency in transport
fuels. The Government also plays a supportive role in financing
synthetic fuel projects from the Central Energy Fund.
South Africa has abundant coal resources at a reasonable cost, as well as
the offshore gas field near the coast of Mosselbay.
The objective of this study is therefore to evaluate and compare the re1athe
economics of certain direct and indirect coal liquefaction process
routes, as well as the conversion of natural gas to transport fuels. The
methanol option as a transport fuel is also addressed.
Information for this study was collected mainly from the literature on
this subject as well as Government institutions and private companies that
are actively involved in the production of synthetic transport fuels. The
primary conclusions of this study are:
Synthetic fuel projects are capital intensive. The number of commercially
proven options for the production of synfuels are limited
to the well proven technology of the Sasol process, conventional
methanol synthesis technology and to a lessor extent the Mobil
methanol-to-gasoline technology. Accurate costs comparisons will
therefore only be possible when more of the direct liquefaction
options have been commercially demonstrated. Commercial realisat
ion of the unproven technologies also involve enormous financial
resources and a high risk.
The Sasol synfuel option with the lowest thermal efficiency of
approximately 42% requires the highest capital investment per ton
or barrel of final product. The high severity direct processes
(H-coal, Exxon-Donor-Solvent or EDS and the German Technology) as
well as the Mobil-MTG capital investment follows, with the low
severity and high thermal efficiency SRC-1 and SRC-2 process capital
requirements the lowest, except for the very low,capital investment
for a methanol synthesis plant...