3 Commercial scale production of furfural and furfural alcohol from sugarcane bagasse for the local Foundry Industry and broader export market Introduction The sugar industry plays an important role in South Africa due to its labour intensity and the rural location of the industry. [...] This proposal, based on research conducted on behalf of the dti by TIPS on the sugar value chain, a report on the biomaterials sector for dti, DST and DEAT (Braude and Montmasson-Clair, 2019) and a report for the dti covering the international competitiveness of the South African Foundry Industry. [...] As such the project potentially ticks three boxes: it aides the sustainability of the sugar sector; it potentially increases the competitiveness of the foundry industry and supports job retention in that sector; and it positions South Africa favourably in terms of moving into the biochemicals and green economy space and its potential high growth markets. [...] As the furfural can be extracted and the bagasse returned for combustion with little energy depletion the marginal cost of producing the biochemical from the sugar mills perspective is virtually zero. [...] This understanding of the dynamics and economics of furfural production is important in determining the scale of the market opportunity.
Authors
- Pages
- 8
- Published in
- South Africa
