Sappi starts work on developing furfural pilot plant
JSE-listed paper and packaging manufacturer Sappi says it has made progress in the development of its biorefinery capacity.
The company confirmed in a release on February 17 that it will build a pilot plant using technology developed in-house to prove the feasibility of a future commercial furfural plant.
The plant will be located at Sappi’s Saiccor Mill, in KwaZulu-Natal, and use the co-product of the dissolving pulp process – hemicellulose sugars.
Sappi says the pilot plant should be operational early in 2022 and, pending successful results and further approvals, Sappi may build a commercial furfural plant at the mill.
“We are happy with the progress being made by our biorefinery team. Biomaterials and biochemicals are integral to Sappi’s strategy of extracting maximum value from wood fibre as a natural resource.
“We have taken a significant step towards generating meaningful revenue from this new business segment,” states CEO Steve Binnie.
Sappi Biotech executive VP Louis Kruyshaar adds that furfural is a sustainably sourced biochemical with a variety of established and future market uses, including resins, solvents and platform chemicals to replace oil-based chemicals.
Additionally, the cost advantages offered by Sappi’s scale mean that Sappi will have a globally competitive cost base for furfural production, what with the commercial plant potentially being co-located at the mill.
The company will also be able to leverage its competencies in logistics and customer service to support global customers, thereby earning additional foreign exchange and supporting the country’s balance of trade.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation