Sasol Polymers Sasolburg, Sasolburg — South Africa

Sasol Polymers Sasolburg, Sasolburg is a petrochemical plant in South Africa. Its listed capacity is 90,000 t of ethylene. Petrochemical plants crack hydrocarbons at very high temperatures to produce ethylene, propylene and other building-block chemicals — one of the most heat-intensive industrial processes. It is operated by Sasol. By capacity it ranks #2 among 2 petrochemical plants in South Africa. It emits about 197,367 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE. That is 1.1% of the CO₂e from the 24 facilities in South Africa that have an emissions figure in IndustryAtlas. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 68% above the national median for this sector.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-732017.

In context: how this facility compares

At 90,000 t of ethylene, Sasol Polymers Sasolburg, Sasolburg is below the median petrochemical plant in South Africa (525,000 t of ethylene). Subsector: petrochemical-steam-cracking. As petrochemical plant, it requires high process heat (typically 300–800°C) for its core industrial operations, supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion. Petrochemical plants crack hydrocarbons at very high temperatures to produce ethylene, propylene and other building-block chemicals — one of the most heat-intensive industrial processes.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 197,367 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest petrochemical plants in South Africa

Listed capacity (t of ethylene), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by Sasol. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Sasol Polymers Sasolburg, Sasolburg sits in a humid subtropical (dry winter) climate zone (Köppen Cwa), at 26.8°S in the southern hemisphere.

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1338 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.03× the loss at a 20 °C reference. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #2 largest of 2 petrochemical plants in South Africa by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

• Natref Sasolburg Refinery · Refinery · 771,500 t CO₂
• ArcelorMittal Vanderbijlpark Steel Works · Steel Plant · 4,161,451 t CO₂
• ZAF-Fezile Dabi_methanol · Chemical Plant · 52,157 t CO₂
• Scaw Metals Group Germiston plant · Steel Plant · 493,095 t CO₂
• Pretoria Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 239,414 t CO₂
• Sasol Polymers Secunda, Secunda · Petrochemical · 1,151,305 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates -26.82537, 27.84282. View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions