Algae Biodiesel Production in South Africa

Got this note thru email from one Tom Catino, I'm posting this here

South Africa: De Beers to Get Biodiesel Licence
July 21, 2006
Posted to the web July 21, 2006

Siseko Njobeni
Johannesburg

THE South African Revenue Service (SARS) is on the verge of
licensing local biodiesel producer De Beers Fuel's commercial
biodiesel production plant, SARS spokesman Adrian Lackay said
yesterday.

The licence would make De Beers Fuel the first authorised commercial
biodiesel producer in SA. SARS requires biodiesel manufacturers that
produce more than 300000l a year to register.

Lackay said SARS was also processing applications from four other
companies that wanted their operations to be licensed.

SARS had received "lots of enquiries from smaller manufac-turers",
an indication that more companies were considering producing
biodiesel.

Government has thrown its weight behind initiatives to stimulate a
biofuels industry. The aim is that biofuels should account for 40%
of SA's renewable energy, in order to achieve the target of 10000GWh
a year from renewable energy by 2013.

Lackay said De Beers Fuel's application for licensing was in the
final stages.

Producers that manufacture less than 300000l a year, regarded as
noncommercial manufacturers, do not have to register their
operations with SARS.

Hendy Schoonvee of Biodiesel Refinery, a company responsible for the
marketing, selling and franchising of De Beers Fuel plants, said its
clients included transport, mining and forestry companies.

De Beers Fuel production plant, in Naboomspruit, Limpopo, produces
biodiesel from the oil of sunflower seeds.

Schoonvee said the plant had the capacity to produce 3,6-million
litres of diesel a month.

Schoonvee said the company had plans for other plants.
He said De Beers Fuel had plans to introduce new technology that
would see the company increase production by converting fuel from
algae.

"About half a hectare of sun-flower seeds gives you about 350l of
diesel. With algae, the production can be 95000l," he said.

On Tuesday next week, SA's first ethanol plant will be launched in
Bothaville in the Free State. Ethanol is an alcohol-based
alternative fuel produced by fermenting and distilling starch crops
such as maize.

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