Mafuta Sasa goes into biodiesel production

In the wake of efforts to clean up the environment and mitigate against climate change through a reduction in the burning of fossil fuels, Dar es Salaam-based Mafuta Sasa Ltd is now producing biodiesel from waste vegetable oil.

Currently, the company collects waste vegetable oil from 60 hotels in Dar es Salaam and produces 10,000 litres of biodiesel per week.

Biodiesel produces 75 per cent less emissions and soot compared to other fossil fuels, making it more environment-friendly.

The firm says it will increase production to 15,000 litres per week if its gets sufficient waste vegetable oil.

Spokesman Stefano Grasso said the company had found a productive way of utilising the waste oil which would otherwise be sold on the used oil market for food processing purposes with negative consequences on the health of consumers, or be dumped into water ways and water bodies where it causes serious pollution. He further said that one litre of waste oil can pollute up to one square kilometre if dumped in the ocean.

Mafuta collects waste vegetable oil from hotels and restaurants, street vendors and households through small enterprises.

To reduce the amount of waste products and to protect the environment, Mafuta is planning to start producing premium soaps and glycerin as a by-product from the heated oil.

The company is also marketing its fuel to motorists because it says the fuel is a better engine lubricant since it has much more oil.

Infact, when other fuels are blended with biodiesel by one per cent, motor engines still get lubricated by 60 per cent.

The Mafuta project is one of many that complement afforestation which is considered among the more promising ways of reducing atmospheric carbon.

Afforestation allows heavily polluting nations to offset their emissions by paying developing countries to store carbon in forests at a fee and earn carbon credits.

Also in the company sights are plans to collect waste vegetable oil from Zanzibar and Arusha, United States of America and the United Kingdom to increase production.

The government recognises Mafuta’s efforts and has given certification as a biodiesel producer.

Other companies that engaged in biodiesel production stopped due to the global financial crisis and only a few Jatropha-based projects are in existence in the region.

A Dar es Salaam based Mafuta Sasa Ltd has started producing the environmentally friendly biodiesel to curb the world’s growing climatic change.