09-12-98 Sasol announced that it will commence with the construction of an ethyl acetate plant in Secunda. The investment in the new plant amounts to R270 mm.
The plant will have a production capacity of 50,000 tpy and will be commissioned by the middle of 2000.
The ethyl acetate plant will be part of Sasol Solvents, a business division of Sasol Chemical Industries. The plant has been designed to produce a high-quality product with a purity of at least 99.8 %. The plant will consume ethanol currently produced by Sasol.

An important market for ethyl acetate is as a solvent in the paints and coatings industry where its application is growing strongly as a replacement for hazardous air polluting aromatic solvents.
The plant will play a significant role in furthering Sasol Solvents' strategy of diversifying its product range by entering the esters range of oxygenated solvents.
The first step in this strategy was the purchase of the Sentrachem ethyl acetate plant in Germiston in mid-1998. This plant has enabled Sasol Solvents to become the dominant ethyl acetate supplier in South Africa and to become familiarised with the marketing and logistics of ethyl acetate. The Germiston plant is currently being converted to also produce normal-propyl acetate. It will be fully dedicated to the production of normal-propyl acetate once the new ethyl acetate plant has been commissioned.

Sasol Solvents forms a strong focus point in terms of the overall growth strategy of the Sasol Group. The Solvents division currently markets about 450,000 tpy of high-quality solvent products. This volume will increase by 280,000 tpy over the next 5 years. About two-thirds of its current production is exported to 88 countries world-wide and this export ratio will be maintained with future production growth.
Sasol Solvents' entry into the ethyl acetate market will be well supported by its strong cash-cost position, the use of existing distribution channels and strong synergies with other solvents in its current product portfolio.
Ethyl acetate is also used as a solvent in inks, adhesives, cosmetics and in the processing of pharmaceutical and other organic products.