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Used cooking oil ideal for biofuel, but not economically feasible yet
Resourceful residents of Central Javaâs Bantul try out biodiesel made of nyamplung (Calophyllum inophyllum) on a 1,000-kilometer test drive
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-: Resourceful residents of Central Javaâs Bantul try out biodiesel made of nyamplung (Calophyllum inophyllum) on a 1,000-kilometer test drive. (tribunnews.com) (Calophyllum inophyllum) on a 1,000-kilometer test drive. (tribunnews.com)
Resourceful residents of Central Java's Bantul try out biodiesel made of nyamplung (Calophyllum inophyllum) on a 1,000-kilometer test drive. (tribunnews.com)
Used cooking oil (UCO) is an ideal ingredient for a biodiesel blend as it is cleaner than fossil fuels and may reduce wasted cooking oil, while at the same time restrains the expansion of oil palm plantations for biodiesel purpose, experts have said.
According to Transportation Study Institute data, biodiesel contains 10 ppm of sulfur, much cleaner than fossil fuel diesel that has 10,000 ppm of sulfur. Besides, the utilization of UCO in biodiesel blends may reduce wasted cooking oil.
"The consumption of cooking oil in Jakarta reaches 50.36 million liters per year, while diesel consumption is 1.09 billion liters per year. It means UCO can fulfill about 5 percent of the need," said Transportation Study Institute Researcher Damantoro on Friday.
Taking fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), a derivative product of crude palm oil (CPO), for the blend, according to Damantoro, would only increase deforestation as new plantations must be opened to meet the biodiesel blend demand.
'To meet Indonesia's 30 percent blend target for diesel, the country needs 10 million more hectares of plantations. It means a large forest must be cut down," said the energy advisor of the British Embassy in Jakarta, Rizka Sari.
The government has planned to gradually increase the biodiesel blend, from 7.5 percent in 2008 to 10 percent in 2013 and 15 percent in 2015. This year, the government aimed to increase the blending ratio to 20 percent.
However, the economic feasibility of utilizing UCO in biodiesel was quite low. First, the fossil fuel price was currently low with 'Solar' (subsidized diesel) priced at Rp 6,700 per liter. Biodiesel must be sold lower than that to make it more competitive.
Second, there is a lack of advanced facilities to convert UCO into a fuel-grade blend. Rizka explained the technology to refine UCO into fuel-grade blend was not cheap and it had to be produced on a massive scale to make it competitive.
Third, there is low public support for the biodiesel program, as demonstrated by the Bali and Bogor conversion facilities. They were still facing difficulties in collecting UCO. "In London, if you bring UCO to conversion facilities, you will get free public transportation vouchers," Rizka said. (ags)
