Harare, Zimbabwe (News of the South)-Sable Chemicals’ use of the Haber process in the production of fertilizer was an energy intensive process that should have been done away with and replaced with more conservative processes in line with the climate change interventions according to various climate experts.
The Kwekwe based company which was the sole local producer of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and other products which include Ammonia, Nitric acid and Oxygen (liquid and gas), closed its plant in 2015 after having electricity switched off by ZESA.
It had allegedly failed to pay off a ballooning US$150 million bill.
The company’s production facility brought as a decommissioned throwaway from France before independence has now been attacked as a financially sapping item whose continued use defied common sense.
According to Chemguide the Haber Process used by Sable, combines nitrogen from the air with hydrogen derived mainly from natural gas (methane) into ammonia. The reaction is reversible and the production of ammonia is exothermic.
Sable uses 80 megawatts of electricity and 3600 tonnes of coal to produce 240 000 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate and 2000 tonnes of Liquid Oxygen per annum.
The company however defended itself as having managed to commission, in 1972, its own ammonia production facility via electrolysis of water which has decreased the import quota to 30% of total raw materials required to make AN with a nameplate capacity of 240 000 tonnes per annum of AN.
However speaking at a climate change event in Harare Anna Brazier, a Sustainable Development Consultant alleged that an Indian national contracted to service the plant had also given the same recommendation but had not been heeded.
“The plant is expensive to maintain and the financially logical thing to do is to bring in a new plant, and besides the cost, the plant takes up much more in energy which isn’t conducive in the climate change theme”.
“It’s the energy sector which is the leading emitter of greenhouse gas’, (GHG’s) thus its fundamental that we make changes in those areas if we are to make any progress in the climate change debate”, she said.
“We need to come up with Zimbabwean solutions to the climate change issues as the global changes will have more impact upon us here than in the Western world, say in New York as compared to Bikita or Zvishavane”.
“The continued erection of houses and building upon wetlands, which normally act as funnels of water in places such as Harare is also detrimental as we are actually creating floods in future scenarios”, she said.
Elisha Moyo, the Principal Climate Change Research Officer also concurred and spelt a grim picture of a world and country that has gone over the brink in terms of destroying the planet.
“Even if we were to stop the emission of greenhouse gases today the positive changes can only be felt only in much later generation since the atmosphere already contains a large mass of dangerous gases”.
“Damning for Zimbabwe is that by the end of the century the average temperature could have increased by 3% whilst the global average is 2% even though we are not the main culprits in the emission of gases”, he said.
According to recalculated figures done in 2015 Zimbabwe’s Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions where 26 996 with the energy sector accounting for 49% and agriculture contributing 40%.
Industry and waster contributed 5% and 6%.
The country’s total GHG’s emissions contribute less than 0, 05% of global emissions, making it a low emitter.
Among some of the objectives for Zimbabwe in climate change mitigation measures include downgrading emissions per from 3 tonnes to 2 tonnes by 2030.
About Author
