In the News

Silversands Ethanol in exclusive partnership with Scania SA, has recently launched the first project involving Bio-Ethanol engines for public bus transport, with Metro Bus. - 22/07/2010

Silversands applies a unique solution that addresses the issue of food security in an innovative way - 23/07/2009

Silversands Ethanol became the 1^st farming group in South Africa to commercially grow Sugar Beet for the Bio Ethanol industry.- 05/04/2009

Silversands community partnership program a roaring success and shining example of how the growing Biofuels industry is stimulating the economy at grassroots level - 26/10/2008

News

Silversands applies a unique solution that addresses the issue of food security in an innovative way - 23/07/2009

The issue of food security has always been an issue in the manufacture of Biofuels and is generally raised by those individually who have little knowledge of the supply chain. Food security is an issue that has been taken seriously by Silversands in that they have come up with a supply chain model that negates the issue of food security and warrants some explanation.

The current maize production figures indicate a large oversupply of maize in South Africa as it is which has affected maize prices negatively from the farmers perspective. The planting of additional maize for the traditional market would only lower the price of maize further and worsen the position of the farmer even more.

Without affecting the price of maize and the food supply chain, Silversands planted additional maize on previously unutilized land for the express use in the manufacture of ethanol. Important to note is that there was NO reduction of the national maize quota and thus no affect on food security or maize prices. To further increase the output of ethanol, Silversands then planted the 1^st commercial sugar beet crop in South Africa on previously unutilized land. Due to the massive yields from sugar beet when compared to Maize, more ethanol can be produced from fewer hectares of land and potentially freeing up land for maize again.

Silversands have also applied a unique swap out technique to further negate any potential food security issues. For each ton of maize Silversands delivers to the mills, they receive in turn one ton of milling dust, a waste product of pure starch from the mills. This waste is the by-product of the manufacture of maize based products like Nik Naks that use only the grits portion of the maize kernel. Ethanol is then made purely from the “waste” portion of the milling process of maize and additionally from the sugar beet pulp.

All in all this unique model has ensured that no maize destined for food markets or land allocated for maize was used in the production of ethanol.