Naturfuel goes on market
Naturfuel goes on market
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.