Engineering procurement and construction (EPC) company Lesedi participated in the Enlit Africa event in Cape Town with a focus on clean air technologies for the mining and power industries.

During the second day of the conference, Lesedi's Senior Project Manager, Leon van Wyk co-presented alongside Hanif Suchwani, Vice President of International Operations, Fuel Tech Inc. USA and Piers de Havilland, Director of Marketing and Business Development EWA, Fuel Tech Srl, Italy.

They unpacked dual flue gas conditioning technology to improve ESP (Electrostatic Precipitator) performance and presented several case studies of innovative Air Pollution Control (APC). The clean energy solutions offered by Fuel Tech can be tailored for different fuels and are ideal for large corporations such as Eskom, Sasol and the mining industry, with guaranteed performance results.

The partnership between Lesedi and Fuel Tech brings more than 30 years of Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) experience to Africa. Both parties have turnkey experience in their respective markets. Lesedi and Fuel Tech can provide Dual Flue Gas Conditioning that can be retrofitted to existing ESP applications to lower emissions for new legislative standards and The National Environmental Management Act.

The Lesedi and Fuel Tech partnership combines their extensive experience across multiple fuels with diverse applications, the ability to scale up or down to the application, a strong market presence and an established supply chain.

Leon van Wyk said that Lesedi supplies several "best of breed" engineering products from around the world. “We are technology agnostic, and form strategic relationships in order to provide the best technical solutions to our clients. This increases local reach for foreign entities and reduces participation risks for international OEMs as we understand the local market landscape and we have an in-depth technical understanding of the systems we get involved with.”

"Fuel Tech is excited to partner with Lesedi in the South African market. This partnership allows local clients access to our proven world-class air pollution control technologies, such as Dual Flue Gas Conditioning, through a well-known and well-respected company with localized technical resources and a well-established supply chain", commented Hanif Suchwani, Vice President of International Operations, Fuel Tech.

Piers de Havilland from Fuel Tech added that “this technology keeps coal generation current with today’s emission requirements. We cannot change overnight to renewable energy technologies and gas, but it is buying us time to journey through the just energy transition.”

During the cocktail event at Lesedi’s exhibition stand, Shane Pereira (Business Development Executive for Lesedi) added that few people understand the complexities of the technologies that Lesedi can offer with its partners and that Lesedi is one of the few EPC companies in South Africa with decades of expertise across all sectors of industry.

Fuel Tech Technologies to enable clean, efficient energy include the following product offerings:

Air Pollution Control (APC)

• Robust suite of low cap-ex NOX and Particulate Control solutions that reduce emissions from 30% to 85%
• Global presence and brand name with 1,000+ installations over a 30+ year history
• Capital project sale, typically fixed-price, with turn-key capabilities
• Typical customers: fossil fuel-fired utilities and industrial boilers
• Capitalizing on the recent trend of deployment of natural gas turbines in support  of domestic manufacturing expansion

FUEL CHEM® (Chemical Technologies)

• TIFI® Targeted In-Furnace Injection™ process promotes boiler efficiency, reliability and environmental status by reducing slag, SO3, NOX,  ABS, PM2.5, and CO2
• Provides fuel flexibility: customers can burn more economical coal
• Annuity-type model with applications in utility and industrial sectors
• Programs in place on combustion units and black liquor recovery boilers (pulp & paper industry) in the Americas, Europe and Asia

Dissolved Gas Infusion Technology

• New end market (2018) via exclusive license agreement with NanO2 LLC 
• Innovative alternative to current aeration technologies
• Micro- and nano-bubbles are infused into water/wastewater to optimize environmental remediation, aerobic digestion, and biological treatment