Trial begins for environmentally friendly fuel

Trial begins for environmentally friendly fuel

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology
(BPPT) began on Monday a trial for a biodiesel fuel, as part of
the government's efforts to promote environmentally friendly
energy.

The biodiesel fuel, which is made from off-grade-quality crude
palm oil (CPO), will be used to operate 23 passenger buses
belonging to the agency.

"Fuel security has become an as important issue as food and
clean water. We cannot rely on fossil fuels anymore, therefore
(we) should develop recyclable fuels, such as biodiesel," State
Minister for Research and Technology M. Hatta Radjasa said.

The BPPT began producing biodiesel at its laboratory in
Serpong, Banten, last year, and now has a capacity of 1,500
liters a day. The agency will soon begin operating a plant in
Riau with a capacity of eight tons of biodiesel a day.

During the trial, each of the BPPT buses will use about 30
liters of biodiesel every day.

The manager of the Engineering Center at the BPPT, Soni
Solistia Wirawan, said the new fuel would remain unavailable to
the public for now.

"We are still doing research on how it (biodiesel) effects the
engine. We will have a road test from Java to Sumatra," Soni said

The research will also involve automotive companies PT Astra
Isuzu International and PT Pantja Motor, and the Japan-Indonesia
Science and Technology Forum.

Hatta said it was important to have a sustainable supply of
fuel that was environmentally friendly, affordable and
technologically proven.

As a major CPO producer, Indonesia will have an adequate
supply of crude palm oil to produce the biodiesel. The country
produced nine million tons of CPO in 2002.

However, Hatta said there were several obstacles to the
production of biodiesel.

"The price for the raw material (CPO) is still relatively high
and people lack information about this new kind of fuel," he
said.

Biodiesel fuel could someday earn a larger share of the market
than gas fuel, said the director general of oil and gas at the
Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Iin Arifin Takhyan.

"This biodiesel does not require any engine modification for
vehicles. It works in ordinary diesel engines. It is different
from the (earlier introduced) gas fuel, which needs several
engine modifications, such as on the fuel tank," he said.

However, the assistant to the deputy for vehicle emissions at
the Office of the State Minister for the Environment, Ridwan D.
Tamin, told The Jakarta Post the President was preparing a decree
to promote the use of gas fuel in public transportation vehicles.

"We will coordinate with related institutions, such as the
Ministry of Trade and Industry to procure gas fuel-ready
vehicles, and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to
assure the availability of the fuel supply," said Ridwan.