Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa recently inaugurated French gas company Air Liquide’s €200-million air separation unit (ASU) at chemicals and energy group Sasol’s Secunda plant, in Mpumalanga.
The ASU is the biggest oxygen production unit in the world, with a capacity of 5 000 t/d, and brings the total number of ASUs in Sasol’s fleet to 17, said joint Sasol CEO Bongani Nqwababa.
The 16 ASUs that Air Liquide built for Sasol prior to the new plant had a capacity of 40 000 t/d of oxygen.
The new plant will further increase oxygen for Sasol’s fuels and chemicals production processes. The ASU also produces gases such as xenon and krypton, which are used in medical scanners and high-speed photography equipment.
Unlike the other ASUs, which are operated in-house, Air Liquide will own and operate the new plant, which is considered the most energy-efficient oxygen train on Sasol’s site.
Air Liquide CEO Benoît Potier said at the launch event, which Engineering News attended, that the ASU would provide the French company with a new source of liquid gases to meet growing demand from the industrial gas market in South Africa.
“Our commitment is not only to Sasol, but also to the South African economy and society. Our first Air Liquide branch was inaugurated in South Africa more than 60 years ago and we have since demonstrated commitment in developing industrial infrastructures,” said Potier.
French embassy representative Emmanual Suquet said that the investment by Air Liquide was testament to the business confidence that French companies had in South Africa.