JP/13/bio
Biodiesel goes on market for healthier environment
Tony Hotland Jakarta
Owners of diesel-engine vehicles can now contribute to a cleaner and healthier environment, as an alternative source of fuel, said to be more environmentally friendly, has entered the market.
PT Energi Alternatif Indonesia started distributing on Tuesday its biodiesel fuel, Naturfuel, to the public via four major gas stations at: Soekarno-Hatta International airport, Tangerang; Sentul, Bogor; Daan Mogot, West Jakarta; and Mal Lippo Karawaci, Tangerang.
"We are selling the fuel in packages while we await permission from the Oil and Gas Upstream Regulatory Agency to dispense the product through gas pumps," Energi Alternatif director Bambang Tribudiman said.
Unlike diesel fuel, which is made from crude oil, biodiesel fuel is made from plant seeds refined through a chemical process.
Bambang said about 40 types of plants could be used to produce biodiesel, such as oil palms and castor-oil plants.
He added the firm had invested Rp 500 million (US$54,436) over the past year in a factory located in Tanjung Priok, which had a production capacity of 500 kilograms of fuel per day. The company is also assembling a new processor with a daily production capacity of two tons of biodiesel fuel.
"At present, we're selling our biodiesel to some big companies like Panasonic Manufacturing and Kramayudha, each of which buys about 2,000 liters of fuel every two months," he said.
The biodiesel is costs Rp 17,000 per two-liter package. Bambang said the price was high because of the high cost of raw materials as well as packaging, labeling and marketing.
"But starting next year, we're going to use castor beans, which are far cheaper," he said, which would lower the price to Rp 2,500 per liter.
Subsidized diesel fuel for the public costs Rp 1,650, while non-subsidized diesel for industries costs around Rp 2,500.
Research conducted by the company, supported by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and the Office of the State Minister of the Environment, has shown that biodiesel fuel reduces soot and gas emissions, which have been found to cause a number of diseases, such as respiratory ailments.
"(Biodiesel) contains trace sulfur and a harmless level of oxygen, which means almost complete combustion and thus less smoke and gas emissions," Bambang said.
The World Fuel Charter, however, recommends biodiesel as a 5 percent additive to diesel fuel for compatibility with engine and vehicle specifications, he added.
Besides Energi Alternatif Indonesia, the BPPT will also operate a biodiesel production facility in the province of Riau, and has just completed assembling processors with a daily production capacity of eight tons.
The Riau government is in discussions with oil company Caltex and pulp company PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper over supplying them with biodiesel.