The future of coal in South Africa

By Prof. Rosemary Falcon, Fossil Fuel Foundation

Coal has been the mainstay of economic development in South Africa for more than two centuries. However, the future of coal has now come into question worldwide, and serious consideration must be given to both the weaknesses and future opportunities for this commodity.

Coal was required for the early diamond miners in Kimberly during the late 1800s, followed by the gold mining fraternity in the mid 1800s. Coal provided the steam for the early rail transport system and the heat and energy required by the early factories. Coal-based electricity production started more than a century ago and now 92% of the region's power is produced from coal. In the mid-1900s Iscor, the country's statutory iron and steel manufacturer at that time began to produce the country's own iron and steel products from raw iron ore in Sishen using coking coal that had been discovered in KwaZulu Natal (a key reductant in the iron ore process). Since World War II, this iron-based industry has grown into a multi-national organisation now known as Arcelor Mittal exporting a multitude of products worldwide. In the early 1950s Sasol was born, based upon the premise that coal could provide key liquid and chemical products. This organisation has developed to be the only organisation to produce 40% of the country's liquid fuel requirements, 100s of major solid, liquid and gaseous chemical and ultimately thousands of carbon-based products. In the 1970s, as a consequence of the international oil crisis, South Africa began beneficiating its coals for export. This lead to a paradigm shift in coal mining and production. New mines developed, new beneficiation plants were installed and South Africa became one of the leading coal exporters in the world.

Coal has become to South Africa what oil is to the countries of the Middle East: its life blood of foreign exchange, energy, export products and chemicals. However, the future of coal has now come into question worldwide. Climate change, believed to arise predominantly from greenhouse gases derived from fossil-fuelled processes, has come to stay, at least in the minds of the environmentally conscious fraternity. Serious consideration must be given to the threats and weaknesses that are starting to bedevil this commodity but, also, the possibilities and the potential opportunities that could arise from a new approach to coal.

The weaknesses that coal suffers from in South Africa currently include, inter alia, the fact that much of the better quality coals have already been mined out, and the coals that are currently being mined are being beneficiated for export. This leaves the poorer qualities for local consumption. Beneficiation is mandatory for all coals now being mined, but the shortage of water is become a limiting factor, whilst the production of ever-increasing discard stockpiles is growing concern for land owners and environmentalists. The threat of acid mine drainage from defunct mines remains a concern and the storage of CO2, produced from the power stations and gasifiers in this country, would appear to be impossible anywhere in this region. And yet, South Africa's politicians promise great reductions in greenhouse gases in the near future, carbon taxes are being discussed and international trade could be negatively linked to export manufacturers' carbon footprints in the very near future.

Where to from here, one may well ask? Renewable sources of energy at this stage only provide about 1% of the country's energy requirements and may never reach more than 20%, given the considerable ever-growing need for energy in this country. Nuclear is a viable option but this is unlikely to take over for some time to come. So – coal will remain king – but how to make this acceptable? This is where South Africa comes into its own!

With this background, South Africa has been obliged to undertake research in a number of areas and in some of these it now leads the world. New dry coal beneficiating technologies are now undergoing pilot scale testing, with promising results, in an attempt to reduce dependence on water. Use of discard materials as a source of energy in fluidised bed combustion and gasification processes is undergoing review, whilst the ash arising from such processes is being developed for use in building and road materials. Environmentally friendly processes including underground gasification are now being developed –with Eskom's UCG pilot scale initiative being considered a world class feat. Should this process continue to prove successful in larger scale demonstrations, it could set the scene for cleaner in-seam utilisation of the many deeper and poorer grade coal seams. The logistics of transport are under discussion in terms of privatising railroad links and increasing roller stock, and smaller mines are collaborating to share stockpiling and sidings in an attempt to rationalise road transport.

Eskom has set and achieved high targets in terms of increased efficiencies in their power stations, some using coals with ash contents well in excess of 35% – a feat unlike any other in the world. FGD plant are being installed in some power plants whilst other smaller capture-ready units are readily available for others but, given the low sulphur, Hg, As and chlorine contents of South African coals, control over these toxic emissions may not need to be as stringent as is the case of the coals of the northern hemisphere.

Research is currently being targeted at using CO2 rather than storing it! Long term research is currently underway and relatively advanced in South Africa to utilise CO2 by developing algal farms adjacent to power stations, coal-to-liquid plant and agricultural land.

Whilst there are still steps to be taken and minds to be turned in achieving the goals of a clean South Africa, much has already been started. The future will depend on the vision of those still to come. But of one thing we all need to be certain, the value of coal as a highly-prized carbon-based chemical cannot be underestimated. With some coal-derived carbon products priced at over R1000 per kg, let no one be under any illusion – that “black stuff” burnt in our fire grates is an amazing source of the most valuable chemicals known to man. Roll on renewables – coal is king; protect it and use it, for it will certainly be worth more than gold, diamonds and platinum in the long run.