Many manufacturers are turning to renewable power to run their factories. Bidco Africa - a producer of edible oils, soaps, and detergents - has signed an agreement with Africa Plantation Capital Management Limited for supply of bamboo to be used for power generation at its Thika factory in Kenya.
Approximately 200 tonnes of dry bamboo will be supplied daily - that will be used as a feedstock to steam up water that will spin turbines to generate electricity.
Bidco Africa already uses up to 70 per cent of its own energy generated from renewable sources.
Africa Plantation Capital Management Limited sources bamboo from its 500 acres bamboo farm as well as from contract farmers who plants the crop on 2,000 acres.
Bamboo is considered a more sustainable and renewable raw material for energy generation - that can be used to replace traditional timber.
Learn more about biomass power generation at CMT’s 2nd Biomass Trade & BioEnergy Africa on 02-03 October, 2018 in Johannesburg.
Contact Ms. Huiyan at
huiyan@cmtsp.com.sg or call +65 6346 9113 for more information on the event.
25 Sep, 2018
Africa has a huge potential to become a biofuel producer. The region has over 550 million hectares of land that can be used to produce biofuel feedstocks. Miscanthus (silvergrass), palm oil, jatropha plants, and biomass, are some of the many raw materials in Africa that can be used by refiners to produce biofuel.
The region already made history in use of biofuels in aviation in 2016, when South African Airways (SAA) and its subsidiary Mango flew the first-ever flight in Africa fuelled by biofuel made from tobacco plants. The Boeing 737-800s flew from OR Tambo International Airport near Johannesburg and over Cape Town.
Now the Boeing Company is keen to produce aviation biofuel using local resources in Africa. This year, the company announced a collaboration with South African government, South African Airways (SAA), the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and U.S. energy firm SKYNRG, to identify biofuel feedstocks in Africa.
Apart from Boeing, the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) has also signed an MoU with the Ethiopian Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum, and Natural Gas for collaboration on biofuel research and development.
Africa can unleash its biofuels sector potential - at a time when refineries around the world are looking at sustainable fuels for the aviation sector. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) forecasts that fuel consumption for international aviation could run as high as 850 million tons by 2050, suggesting a requirement for 425 million tons of biofuel that can help achieve targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, biofuel production is limited – that represents less than 0.1 percent of the global total consumption of all types of jet fuel.
Currently, the U.S., Europe, and Brazil, produce 150 billion liters of biofuel annually.
More about biofuels production in Africa will be discussed at CMT’s 2nd Biomass Trade & BioEnergy Africa on 02-03 October, 2018 in Johannesburg.
Contact Ms. Huiyan at
huiyan@cmtsp.com.sg or call +65 6346 9113 for more information on the event.
15 Aug, 2018
South Africa has a lot of wood, pulp and paper wastes that end up in landfills or are burnt, stockpiled and dumped into oceans. The country is already facing a huge challenge in waste management due to lack of landfill space. To address the situation, the South African government has recently launched a Biorefinery Industry Development Facility (BIDF) in Durban.
The facility will cost R37.5 million and will be the first of its kind in South Africa. The facility will extract maximum value from biomass waste while also supporting innovation in a range of industries, including forestry, agro processing and other biomass-based industries.
The facility will explore ways to extract high-value speciality chemicals wastes such as sawmill and dust shavings, while mill sludge can be converted into nanocrystalline cellulose, biopolymers and biogas.
More about biogas and biomass power in Africa will be discussed at CMT’s 2nd Biomass Trade & BioEnergy Africa on 02-03 October, 2018 in Johannesburg.
Contact Ms. Huiyan at
huiyan@cmtsp.com.sg or call +65 6346 9113 for more information on the event.
28 May, 2018
