Debswana partners with UB on biodiesel project
Debswana’s partnership with the University of Botswana to deliver an ambitious and game changing biodiesel fuel project will go a long way in driving our sustainability and achieving our carbon neutrality targets by year 2030.
At the beginning of June 2022, a biodiesel ( B50) trial began in Jwaneng Mine. The drive to achieve carbon neutrality and the unpredictable fuel price increases are some of the major factors which were influential in the business landscape tilting towards carbon neutrality. This was made possible through a partnership between Debswana Diamond Company and the University of Botswana. The objective of the first phase was to establish the environmental benefits of biodiesel over petroleum diesel. The first phase involved fuelling 10 green area vehicles with Biodiesel B20.
From recent studies, Biodiesel greenhouse gas emissions were significantly lower than those of petroleum diesel with about 49 percent reduction. These results led to Jwaneng Mine management to make a bold decision to move ahead with the trial to the second phase where 20 percent of green area fleet are to be powered with biodiesel by the end of December 2022. The focus in the second phase is to establish efficiency and mechanical issues which may arise as a result of using biodiesel.
Renewable energy is key to carbon neutrality hence the promotion of biofuels as low carbon alternatives to fossil fuels. Biodiesel is a form of biofuel made up of alkyl- monoesters derived from fatty acids of vegetable oils or animal fats. It is an alternative fuel for diesel powered engines. The use of this fuel will positively contribute towards Debswana achieving its goal of carbon neutrality by year 2030.
Biodiesel, as an alternative to current vehicle fuels, has proven to not only be more sustainable and less environmentally harmful, but also more cost- effective. “Working in partnership with the University of Botswana has been an invaluable experience thus far, and we are eager to share the results of these efforts with the wider team. It’s an exciting and unchartered space through which we intend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate the risks of climate change for future generations,” said Jwaneng Mine Asset Management Engineer Dikgang Kgoboko.
According to Associate Professor under the UB’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clever Ketlogetswe, this initiative started at the university, where upon completion of the pilot stage, they extended the trials to include seven ( 7) UB vehicles, which have been running on the landed fluid since March 2022. “Jwaneng Mine was interested in what we were doing, and they approached the UB Research Team. This partnership has since proved fruitful as we began trials of using biofuels in one of the Jwaneng Mine buses – which showed significant decrease in emissions. This is promising work that could prove to be a true game changer.”
The inputs used to produce biofuel are usually considered as waste products such as used cooking oil. The current production scale of biodiesel is relatively low, with the unit production cost currently sitting at BWP 8.00.
“Glycerol, as a by- product of biodiesel, is being used to produce products such as hydrogen.
This means there are even more opportunities to explore within this field,” said Ketlogetswe.
Jwaneng Mine General Manager Koolatotse Koolatotse said, “Our partnership with the University of Botswana ( UB) to launch biodiesel fuel is a journey that is proving successful thus far, as we work to engineer greater sustainability into all that we do.”
He said they are intentional and committed to contributing towards shaping the future through driving sustainability and carbon neutrality by 2030. “Through proactive efforts such as these directed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we can all do our part to mitigate the risks of climate change to benefit future generations. It is important to note that Jwaneng Mine has since been given the green light to fuel more vehicles with biodiesel as the project now develops further.”