KUCHING: The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) last week concluded a safe, smooth, problem-free and successful 1,060 km journey from Sarawak, across Brunei and into Sabah, to evaluate the performance of the newly-formulated B10 Biodiesel fuel involving the use of 14 SUVs and 4×4 vehicles, and 4 fully laden fuel tankers. The Expedition was held from March 1 to 5.
The drive, from Bintulu in Sarawak to Kundasang, Sabah was jointly conducted in the presence of representatives from nine media organisations nationwide.
The event attracted a total of 34 participants, including vehicles from the Malaysian Rubber Board, Malaysian Cocoa Board, Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad and Genting Plantations/SPC Biodiesel Sdn Bhd. On average the journey involved between six and eight hours of driving daily.
Leaving Bintulu, the convoy of vehicles entirely fuelled by B10 Biodiesel, made its way to the MPOB Research Station in Sungai Asap, Belaga, before being officially flagged off by Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Yang Berhormat Datuk Datu Nasrun Datu Mansor on the first leg of their journey to Miri.
Also present were the Chairman of MPOB Datuk Ahmad Hamzah and MPOB Director-General Dr Haji Ahmad Kushairi Din.
Day two involved a total of eight border crossings in and out of neighboring country Brunei before concluding in Lawas some 392 km away, while day three was a 282 km drive up to the mountain resort of Kundasang at the foothill of Mount Kinabalu, where temperatures dipped to as low as 12 degree celcius.
The fourth and final day of the expedition began with a “start” test at 7am, to debunk myths that the B10 can solidify in cold temperatures thus affecting vehicle start in the morning. In the presence of the accompanying journalists, all vehicles were successfully started on the first try.
“In the context of greener motoring, B10 biodiesel offers cleaner and more efficient fuel, reduced exhaust emissions and lower toxicity levels compared to petroleum-based diesel. It is a step up from the existing B7 blend,” said MPOB Principal Research Officer and Group Leader Biodiesel Technology Engineering and Processing Division, Dr Harrison Lau.
“The introduction of B10 biodiesel for the transportation sector is estimated to remove emissions equivalent to 600,000 cars on the road. And it is these incremental improvements in biodiesel quality that we hope, will go a long way towards helping Malaysia reduce its carbon footprint and environmental pollution.”
The affect of B10 Biodiesel could also be visibly seen throughout the journey where none of the vehicles emitted puffs of black smoke – common to diesel engines – during hard acceleration or when ascending the steep mountainous roads to Kundasang.
“What was most obvious to me was that I could make steep climbs in a higher gear, something that I could not do previously…And I have been driving tankers for more than 15 years,” said Abdul Sali Alpa, the driver of one of the fuel tankers. Fully laden, the tanker weighed in at 38,000 kg.
As for Faisal Hasbi who drove a three-year-old Toyota Hilux, the drive did reveal an obvious incremental fuel economy.
B10 biodiesel is essentially a blend of 10% palm methyl ester and 90% fossil fuel, a three per cent increment in the use of palm methyl ester as compared to the existing B7 biodiesel available at pumps today.
The introduction of the fuel is in line with the national aspiration of making biodiesel a sustainable and renewable source of fuel as the country strives to reduce its carbon footprint and environmental pollution.
Biodiesel not only reduces emissions and carbon monoxide pollution in the pursuit of a greener automotive footprint, but also brings about tremendous positive industrial, economical, commercial and social benefits for the country as a whole.
Since the Government first mentioned its intention to introduce B10 biodiesel in 2013, it has undertaken comprehensive measures to ensure that it engaged all stakeholders within the automotive industry and to ensure that B10 biodiesel is safe to be used by all diesel engines.
In addition to laboratory and rig testing, MPOB has been conducting on-the-road tests involving a number and different make and model of vehicles powered by B10 biodiesel since 2013. It even has dedicated team whose task is to drive at least 1,000 km per day. MPOB’s tests also extend to the use of B20 biodiesel which is ongoing since 2013.
Since 2014, a total of 50 vehicles belonging to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall ranging from tractors, excavators and backhoes to pick-ups, tipper trucks, vans, tow trucks and water tankers have also been exclusively powered by B10 biodiesel in its every day operations.
In laboratory, rig and real kilometre testing, there have been no reports of fuel filter plugging, no injector deposits, and no damage to engine components – the main concerns of which have been raised by certain quarters opposed to and skeptical of the B10 biodiesel mandate in the transport sector.
Overall, B10 biodiesel adheres to international biodiesel blend standards; and has been validated by experiences, evaluations and millions of problem-free genuine on-the-road kilometres recorded by various make and model of vehicles, car owners and transport operators that are currently in operations in countries with the B10 or higher biodiesel mandates.
The almost sulphur-free content in B10 biodiesel also equates to reducing the risk of corrosive wear in the engine without inhibiting engine performance. In older diesel-powered vehicles, the use of regular diesel can cause significant sulphuric acid build up which quickly corrodes, thus requiring these vehicles to undergo more frequent oil changes. In newer vehicles, the high pressure diesel direct injection systems such as common rail diesel engines are highly sensitive to high sulphuric levels. Overall, high sulphur levels increases vehicle repair and maintenance.
B10 also has a higher cetane number which allows fuel to combust more easily.
