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.

The first and only certified biodiesel producer in Tanzania, the firm participates in improving the world’s climate change through collecting waste vegetable oil from hotels and restaurants, street vendors and households through micro finance institutions and then refining it at the factory.

Stefano Grasso, spokesperson of the firm told The EastAfrican in Dar es Salaam last week that the oil can also be sold on the second oil market for food processing purposes with highly negative consequences on the health of the final consumers.

Mr Grasso said that the oil would otherwise be dumped into the sink with negative polluting effect whereby one litre of this waste oil can pollute up to one square kilometer if dumped in the ocean.

Biodiesel produces 75 per cent less emission and less soot comparing to other fossil fuels giving it the chance to protect the environment.

It also gives our customers to enjoy the benefit of lubricating their engines since it has much more oil. Even when other fuels are blended with biodiesel by one per cent still the engine will be lubricated by 60 per cent.

To reduce the amount of waste products by the firm, as a way towards preserving the environment, the firm is planning to start producing premium soaps and glycerin from the heated oil that it’s by products are glycerin and biodiesel.

The project has come in the wake of the proposed programme for reducing emissions from deforestation which is considered among the more promising ways to reduce atmospheric carbon.

The programme will allow heavily polluting nations to offset their emissions by paying developing tropical countries to store carbon in forests; a step towards the global climatic change.

According to Mr. Grasso the firm is currently collecting waste vegetable oil from sixty hotels based in Dar es Salaam only. The stock enables them to produce 10,000 litters of biodiesel per week.

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

According to the firm, it is envisaged a small plan that will see the firm collecting vegetable oil wastes from Zanzibar and Arusha, United States of America and United Kingdom which will enable the firm to accelerate its production.

So far Mafuta Sasa Ltd is the only company producing biodiesel in the East African region.

Other companies that engaged themselves in the business stopped due to global financial crisis leaving behind few Jatropha projects in the region.