Article image retrieved from News24 article : "Sasol suffers shock slump as it warns of 'operational instability'"

Secunda CTL is a major energy production site in South Africa, owned and operated by Sasol since 1955, with two additional facilities, Secunda II and Secunda III, added in 1980. The plant relies on Fischer–Tropsch synthesis to produce liquid fuels from coal gasification. Its total capacity is approximately 150,000 barrels per day. Sasol is an integrated company, using coal sourced from its own nearby mine. A large number of 97 Lurgi gasifiers are in use. In these units, steam and oxygen circulate countercurrently through the gasifier over an iron catalyst to generate synthesis gas (syngas). The gas conditioning section follows the gasifiers and aims to reduce sulfur content, particulates, and gas temperature. The Rectisol absorption/desorption process is used to sweeten the acid gas stream : H₂S and CO₂ are removed. A methanation unit then follows, combining shift and reforming reactions to reduce the concentration of CO₂. The treated synthesis gas is subsequently sent to the Fischer–Tropsch reactor, where valuable CO is converted into a wide array of paraffinic hydrocarbons. Gasoline and diesel are the main target products, although a broader range of petrochemicals is also produced.