The road tests for 30 percent blended biodiesel (B30) are underway. Despite positive results and a decrease of emissions, experts are calling on the government to ensure that the policy works to support the industry and to solve fossil fuel-related problems.

The interim results of B30 road tests show less significant changes in the power of vehicles and a decrease of emissions, according to a researcher from the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, Maharani Dewi Solikhah

The tests showed that vehicles using B30 produced emissions of 1.3 to 1.4 grams per kilometer of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, less than the maximum 1.5 grams allowed.

“This not a final result,” Maharani said during the announcement of the B30 road test results in Bandung on Thursday.

The road tests were part of an initiative by the government and the associations to provide data for the mandatory use of B30 next year.

“The tests measure some parameters, including fuel consumption, power, emission rates, cold-start ability, fuel quality and lubricant quality,” said Dadan Kusdiana, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s research and development agency head.

The road tests involved eight passenger cars, which were to travel some 50,000 kilometers, and three heavy-duty vehicles that each weighed more than 3.5 tons and were to travel some 40,000 km.

As of last Monday, some of the passenger cars had driven 37,357 km, while the heavy-duty vehicles had reached 28,677 km from their starting point in Lembang, West Java.

The tests used a full-to-full method, which aims to determine the level gap of the fuel when the vehicles were refilled after finishing their daily travel.

“To prevent biases, such as how the fuel was being consumed because of the environment and driving behavior, we asked the drivers to take turns every two hours and to change their vehicles from ones fueled with B20 [20 percent blended biodiesel] to others with B30 and vice versa,” Maharani said.

Each of the passenger cars must do return trips from Lembang to Guci, Central Java, every day while the heavy-duty vehicles must travel from Lembang to Karawang.

Meanwhile, the tests of emission rates, the vehicles’ overall performances, filter and lubricant qualities were performed every 2,500 km.

The temporary test results had remained stable and positive because there was no significant change of the total emission rates of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide, Maharani said. “The emissions are still under the minimum requirement and there has been no significant increase.”

At the same time, there were different results for the average fuel consumption between the vehicles using B20 and B30, she said.

The first car, identified as P1, showed a 6.5 percent higher fuel consumption when using B30 after about 17,000 km. The second car, identified as P2, showed a 2.35 percent higher consumption when using B20 after about 28,000 km.

Another vehicle, identified as P3, showed a 5.58 percent higher fuel consumption when using B20 after about 24,000 km. The last car, identified as P4, showed a 4.1 higher consumption when using B30 after about 12,000 km.

Meanwhile, for heavy-duty vehicles, the use of B30 showed an ability to travel 5.26 km per liter, whereas another vehicle could only travel 3 km per liter, she added.

The cars being used in the tests are the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Nissan Tera, Toyota Fortuner and DFSK because those high-technology cars are the most complex, said a representative of the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo), Abdul Rohim.

Despite the positive road test results, energy analyst Fabby Tumiwa said the diesel-centric B30 policy remains inadequate for reducing Indonesia’s overall oil dependence because it did not address the bigger problem of gasoline consumption.

Domestic diesel consumption last year was 16.2 million kiloliters, which was only 21.6 percent of total fuel consumption, while the remaining 78.4 percent was gasoline, according to Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPH Migas) data. (aps)

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