A Clean Business

Advantages of SunDiesel^®

High-quality synthetic automotive fuels (Gas-to Liquids or GtL, Coal-to-Liquids or CtL) are obtained from a synthesis gas. When this synthesis gas is obtained from biomass, we refer to the fuel as BtL (Biomass-to-Liquid) or SunFuel.

The make-up and especially the purity of the synthesis gas is able to meet the highest quality standards.

Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis is used to convert the synthesis gas into an automotive fuel. During this process, the reactive parts of the synthesis gas (CO and H2) interact with a catalyst to form hydrocarbons. FT synthesis was developed in Germany in the 1920s and it is particularly used in South Africa on a large scale to produce automotive fuels from coal.

In order to maximize the output of diesel (SunDiesel^®), the waxes formed during the FT synthesis process are further processed using hydrocracking techniques, a standard process that is used in the petrochemical sector to recycle waste substances at refineries.