The price of bitumen depends on many factors, whether it is in South Africa or any other country. The following factors will determine how much each item in this article contributes to the total cost of bitumen in South Africa. We highly recommend that you read this article in order to get a better understanding of the oil and petrochemical business in South Africa. Market conditions in South Africa's oil and bitumen industries The oil industry in South Africa can be broken down into two distinct categories: the upstream sector, and the downstream industry. The downstream sector is responsible for refining, shipping, the market, and the manufacturing of final oil products, while the upstream industry is responsible for the discovery and production of crude oil. As a matter of fact, South Africa does not have any deposits of crude oil and does not produce crude oil; as a result, the corporations in South Africa import more than sixty percent of their crude oil from the Middle East and Africa. It is essential to be aware that the final petroleum products that are utilized in the greatest quantity in South Africa are gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, light paraffin, kerosene, bitumen 80/100, bitumen 60/70, MC grades, and liquefied petroleum gas. It goes without saying that gasoline and diesel fuel are the major petroleum products available on the market in South Africa. In order to be more exact, there are a total of six refineries in South Africa that are used for the production of final oil and gas products. These refineries are named as follows: Chevref, Enref, Sapref, Natref (four crude refineries), Sasol (coal and gas refining), and Petrosa. Only the wholesalers and pricing are subject to the government's regulation in South Africa regarding the prices of oil and bitumen respectively. In point of fact, the formula for determining import prices is used to determine fuel costs in South Africa. This implies that the price of oil is determined by supply and demand on the global market as well as the pricing of other international commodities. It is important to point out that they deliver petroleum products to refineries as well as around 200 warehouses, 4,600 stations, and 100,000 direct users, the majority of whom are farmers, via pipelines, rail, sea, and roadways. Because of this, the prices in South Africa are also affected.
Bitumen South Africa
South Africa doesn’t have bitumen mines in itself, but it is a massive importer of this product. Road pavements are made of aggregate, cement, bitumen, and water in addition to other bulk raw materials such as bitumen and cement. For the purpose of optimizing the design of pavements, it is necessary to quantify and monitor the environmental, social, and economic implications of the materials and processes that are used. There is not yet a procedure of this kind in effect in South Africa. This study documents the life cycle inventory for bitumen, one of the most environmentally and socially burdensome materials utilized for pavement development, and then provides a framework for the development of a pavement life cycle evaluation model based on that framework. This inventory serves as the first building block in the creation of a life cycle assessment model by evaluating and characterizing key flows connected to the supply chain of bitumen in South Africa. These flows include inputs of materials and energy as well as outputs of pollutants. Indicators that assess the primary flows' quantitative impacts depict the flows themselves as primary flows. Other indicators such as emissions to water, waste generation, job creation, and economic transformation, amongst others, are not included in the inventory at this time. The inventory provides impact category indicators for emissions related to the environment and society, as well as the use of energy and water. These indicators are not included because there is a paucity of data of a high quality at this time and because it is difficult to quantify the implications, but acknowledgement is given to the fact that they are relevant and important. It is anticipated that this method will serve as the foundation for a live procedure, the quality of which will be elevated as a result of more investigation. Despite the fact that the South African road authorities are the primary audience for which this technique is intended, it is adaptable for application in any country. Road pavements are made of aggregate, cement, bitumen, and water in addition to other bulk raw materials such as bitumen and cement. Quantification and ongoing monitoring of the environmental, social, and economic implications of the materials and processes used in the pavement design should be done in order to get optimal results. There is not yet a procedure of this kind in effect in South Africa. 
The development of a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) model of the consequences of alternative pavement designs and technologies in terms of construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation is a necessity that has been identified. The first thing that needs to be done in order to create a life cycle assessment (LCA) is a life cycle inventory (LCI). Tracking the flows (inputs of materials, resources, and energy as well as outputs of waste, pollution, and co-products) that are represented by indicators for the system being examined is the first step in the LCI analysis phase. The indicators are recorded in the inventory in terms of the amount of energy used, the amount of materials used, such as aggregates, bitumen, and water, and the amount of greenhouse gasses produced by a typical asphalt factory. These are the fundamental data sources for an LCI, and in order to discover where they came from, also known as the background data processes, it is necessary to track them all the way back. In the case of bitumen, the background activities consist of extraction procedures, but in the case of energy, they may entail transporting crude oil to the location where it will be refined. Because of the impact of background processes, it is essential to design inputs for an LCI on a regional scale and to take into account the standard procedures and resources that are accessible in that region. It might be a challenge to acquire data from places that do not willingly provide data regarding the methods or resources that are utilized in the production of pavement materials. This can make the data collection procedure more difficult. In circumstances like this, it is common practice to make use of published data sets, which can originate from commercial sources or from published works of literature. In the first stages of the development of the pavement life cycle index (LCI), when studies were swiftly released but had a great deal of inconsistency, researchers noticed the problems that were associated with the use of proxy data. The most prominent manifestations of these problems were low-quality data, the use of proxy data to fill research gaps, and an overall disregard for location-specific evaluations. 
Certain inventories are frequently considered to be "golden black boxes," and their use is carried out with little regard for the underlying constraints that are present in the inventories. Taking into consideration the frequently referenced Eurobitume inventory, which was first released in 2012 and will be updated in 2020. Between the two data sets, the inventory has variable embodied carbon factors that are applied to particular aspects of the inventory; in some cases, these factors might differ by as much as fifty percent. This exemplifies the significance of the influence that poor data may have on forecasts. Inconsistency in the selection of impact categories is another issue that is prevalent in the LCI development models. While most of the attention is often directed toward energy use and carbon emissions, other vital indicators, such as water use, are frequently overlooked. Place your emphasis on compiling a comprehensive inventory that takes into account both environmental and social characteristics. Giunta et al. provide evidence that demonstrates the contributions of various phases of the pavement's life cycle (with the exception of the use phase) to the total energy and carbon footprint estimates for a typical pavement project. This evidence helps to support the need to quantify these indicators. According to the findings of Giunta and colleagues, the production phase is responsible for more than half of the total energy and emissions that are associated with the development of pavement, with the manufacturing of bitumen being the primary source of material. It is possible to lessen the severity of these effects through the application of various strategies, such as replacing bitumen with bituminous asphalt made from recycled polystyrene. Although the inventory described in this research is unique to South Africa, it is amenable to adaptation such that it may serve as a model for any nation. 
This strategy is based on the idea that sustainability is influenced both by geographic location and by the limits of individual communities. The research focuses on the normal processes that occur during the manufacture of bitumen as well as the typical constraints that are encountered during the process of developing an inventory for penetration-grade bitumen. In addition, the necessity of developing country-specific inventories is proved through data validation and sensitivity studies. The purpose of these analyses is to highlight critical factors that affect estimates and support conclusions and suggestions.
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