Sasol is the world’s first – and largest – oil-from-coal refinery.  It is situated in Sasolburg in South Africa and provides 40% of the country’s fuel. The history of Sasol began in 1927 when a White Paper was tabled in Parliament to investigate the establishment of a South African oil-from-coal industry.

It was realised then that, because South Africa did not have crude oil reserves, the country’s balance of payments had to be protected against increasing crude oil imports. After many years of research and international negotiations, the South African Coal Oil and Gas Corporation was formed in 1950.

Major milestones include the first automotive fuel (1955), the construction of the National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa (1967) and the establishment in 1990 of its first international marketing company, Sasol Chemicals Europe.

Sasol has developed world-leading technology for the conversion of low-grade coal into value-added synfuels and chemicals.

Researchers have created a remarkable new kind of concrete that’s made out of waste products from coal plants–concrete that could both last for hundreds of years and reduce carbon emissions by 90%. The cement industry is one of the most polluting industries there is, contributing 5-8% of the world’s greenhouse gases. This new ‘geopolymer concrete’ emits 90% less than its Portland brethren, and could last ten times as long, in addition to having a slew of other advantages. According to Science Daily, the fly ash concrete can produce a more durable infrastructure capable of design life measured in hundreds of years instead of tens, conserve hundreds of thousands of acres currently used for disposal of coal combustion products, and protect aquifers and surface bodies of fresh water via the elimination of fly ash disposal sites.

Research is still being done on the geopolymer, but it the notion that the stuff can capture carbon dioxide, prevent the need for toxic dump sites, and be turned into a better, longer-lasting version of a highly in-demand product make it the best kind of triple threat . More than a few eyes will on this carbon-trapping concrete.

Source:  http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/new-concrete-made-from-coal-plant-waste-lasts-10-times-as-long.html

Coke is a material with high carbon content and porosity.  It has high resistance to breakage and low reactivity with gases, particularly CO₂.  Coke production is an important part of the integrated iron and steel plants, as it is used both as a reducing agent and as a source of thermal energy in blast furnace.

Coke is produced by heating coking coals up to 1000 to 1200 °C for several hours in coke ovens to drive off volatile compounds and moisture.  Coal characteristics play an important role on the coke consumption and thus the energy demand. A 1% increase in the ash content of coke may increase the coke demand by 2%. This is an important factor for countries like India where the coal ash content is high.

Mining has long been part of the development and advancement of South Africa’s economy and has contributed largely in making the strongest economy on the continent.

South Africa’s mining industry is the country’s largest employer, with around 460,000 employees and a further 400,000 employed by the suppliers of goods and services to the industry.

Ownership, access and opportunity in regards to the country’s mineral resources are regulated by the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002, which recognises the state’s custodianship over the country’s mineral resources.  As the country’s second largest earner in terms of the value of total sales after gold, coal provides 6.1% of the country’s total merchandise exports. South Africa is the sixth largest holder of coal in the world with 31 billion tonnes of recoverable coal reserves, equivalent to 11 % of the world’s total coal reserves.

Although most of the coal is consumed by the South African energy sector, with 77 % of the country’s primary energy needs provided by coal, 69 million tonnes of coal per annum are exported via Richard’s Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT). Historically the majority of this was exported to Europe, but Asia (India and China) has in recent years become the preferred market.