Programme director;
Dr Rob Adam, NECSA CEO;
Chairperson and members of the international organising committee;
Chairperson and members of the local organising committee;
Ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you for inviting me to speak to you this evening. I would like to extend a special welcome to those of you who have travelled from overseas to be at this very important event. Round-table discussions (such as those that have taken place over the past few days) cannot succeed if there are empty chairs around the table.
Looking at the impressive array of speakers and delegates at this conference, I have every confidence that we not only have a good number of participants, but we have the necessary diversity of experience and knowledge, which has ensured that the discussions held over the past four days have been productive and successful. As you approach the end of this conference, I am optimistic that if there are still some gaps, and goals that have not been achieved, you will be able to wrap everything up tomorrow, and go home on a high note.
So to those from the distant corners of the globe and to my fellow South Africans from across the country, I say welcome to this gala dinner, and a belated welcome to this, the 3rd International Round Table on Thermal Plasmas for Industrial Applications.
Since the inaugural round table held in Egypt in 2007, followed by the second two years later, this event has shown encouraging growth. It has undoubtedly succeeded in its aim of attracting the world’s foremost experts in the thermal plasma fraternity to get together and discuss the latest developments in plasma technology.
The round table format lends itself to an open and frank discussion as opposed to a few “talking heads” from a podium, with an amorphous kind of audience obediently listening and reluctant to contribute. The first two round tables attracted some 35 experts from 10 countries, and the success of their deliberations led to the decision that this would become a biennial event.
During the 2nd Round Table conference, the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) proposed the hosting of the 3rd Round Table in South Africa – and the rest, as they say, is history!
This year’s conference has attracted more than 80 experts, managers and administrators, all of whom play key roles in advancing research enterprise in universities, the nuclear industry, research institutes, government and in business.
The first signs of interest in the application of plasma technology in Africa came in the 1970s, when the mining industry realised that this technology could be very useful in the processing of minerals. South Africa continues to play a leading role in Africa in the development of plasma arc technology, and I would like to share with you just some of the exciting work that is being done by the Department of Science and Technology and its various science councils in this field.
Our key national research councils, Mintek and Necsa, have been conducting research and development in plasma technology for more than 30 years, and have well developed plasma research facilities and expertise. Mintek focuses on transfer-arc plasma development for mining applications, while Necsa focuses on non-transfer arc plasmas for nuclear and waste treatment, fluorochemical applications and minerals beneficiation. I was pleased to hear that you were able to visit the plasma technology facilities at both Mintek and Necsa during the course of this conference. I trust that you were suitably impressed by the work being done by these two dedicated research councils.
Plasma technology is being used in two of the Department's flagship initiatives – the Advanced Metals Initiative (its New Metals Development Network is undertaking zirconium research) and the Fluorochemicals Expansion Initiative. Through these initiatives we hope to grow and strengthen a portfolio of niche high-potential research and development capabilities that support the development of new industries in advanced manufacturing, chemicals and advanced metals.
This research has been demonstrated at pilot scale, with the intention to scale up to demonstrator plants, leading to the development of new downstream metal and chemicals industries in South Africa. Ladies and gentlemen, these developments do not occur in isolation, but are part of a bigger plan aimed at creating greater synergy in this vital field. Our research is aligned to some of the South African Government's key priorities, namely the Minerals Beneficiation Strategy and what we call our New Growth Path, both of which identify beneficiation as key to economic growth. Consistent with our strategic objective to build the necessary human capital capacity in certain areas, the zirconium and fluorochemical research efforts also support the development of Masters and doctoral students, as well as patents, publications and technology demonstrators.
As you probably know, mining continues to play a critical role in our national economy, and we have increasingly used plasmas in the South African mining industry for the refinement and beneficiation of locally mined minerals. This has been done by way of high-temperature thermal plasma furnaces producing stainless steel, titanium slag, chromium and precious metals. Other applications include plasma spraying and coatings, advanced cutting and welding, ozone manufacturing for water purification, and nano-particle production.
Private companies have also made extensive use of plasma technology for different applications such as plasma coatings, welding, chemical vapour deposition, and ozone production. Some companies in the private sector contribute to the plasma industry by designing, manufacturing and supplying plasma equipment.
It would be remiss of me not to mention at this conference that, in just a few weeks from now, South Africa will host the important climate change 17th Conference of the Parties – more popularly known as COP17 – where, amongst other things, issues related to the imperative to move decisively towards cleaner and renewable sources of energy will be discussed. In this regard, we believe that plasma technology can make a useful contribution to a clean-energy supply chain by gasifying waste and biomass. This, as you know, could be used to produce synthetic fuel and electricity, while at the same time reducing waste volume by more than 90%.
As a country that regards its local sphere of government as the closest interface between government and the citizenry, South Africa is particularly interested in the use of plasma technology in treating municipal household waste – as well as medical waste, bio-waste, nuclear waste, toxic and chemical waste, and electronic waste.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that a plasma waste-treatment system, called the BeauTiFuel system, developed by the University of the Witwatersrand, Necsa and a number of private companies, will be exhibited at the COP17 conference.
I'm sure you will agree with me that, in order to find more creative ways of applying existing scientific knowledge and increasing our capacity to make new discoveries and to produce groundbreaking technologies that can be commercialised, we have to increase and renew our human capital. Hence my delight in informing this esteemed audience that about 40 post graduate students and researchers recently participated in a short course on Thermal Plasma Processes, Fundamentals and Applications, a course hosted by the University of Pretoria.
If this important course could be extended to as many universities as possible, in our country and the rest of the African continent, it would go a long way towards enhancing Africa's capacity to do cutting-edge research, development and innovation in the area of thermal plasmas.
This round-table forum has attracted some of the best minds in the world – leaders in the field of thermal plasma research and technologies – and it also provides a strategic platform for engagement among key role-players in academia, government and the private sector.
Considering the potential impact of the various themes that you have selected for discussion, and the effect that these can have on human development, I hope that, in addition to viewing this conference as an opportunity to strengthen international collaboration and to exchange experiences and ideas, you have also used it as a unique opportunity to collectively strengthen your commitment to responding to some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. While this could appear a rather daunting task, I am more than confident that this gathering possesses the necessary scientific and intellectual firepower to achieve its goals. So I urge you to give it your all tomorrow, the final day of the conference.
Before I allow you to continue your dinner, which is really what you are here for tonight, I would like to remind you to look out for an upcoming edition of the publication Engineering News, which will feature an article on this conference by Dr Kelvin Kemm.
Finally, I would like to leave you with a quote which I believe is very appropriate for this occasion. The renowned British science fiction author and futurist Arthur C. Clarke once said: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am sure you’ve produced a bit of magic of your own over the past few days. I wish you a magical evening.
Thank you.
