As the European Union plans to limit use of biodiesel fuel for transportation, Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer, plans to expand biodiesel consumption in its domestic market.
Motorized vehicles in Indonesia are already mandated to use biodiesel. In a new development, the country’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry plans to now expand the use of biodiesel to 3.5 million kiloliters annually. For this it plans to encourage the country’s mining sector and state-owned railway operator KAI to start using biodiesel.
Once implemented, the mining sector is anticipated to guzzle as much as 90 percent of about 400,000 kiloliters of additional biodiesel use while KAI’s locomotives will consume the remaining 10 percent of the biodiesel. The biodiesel used in the mining industry is expected to be fuelling heavy equipment on mining sites. The government is already in talks with mining companies to implement the conversion to biodiesel.
The government is also conducting tests on the use of B5 or biodiesel 5 percent for train locomotives.
Train locomotives will be using B5 while the heavy equipment in mining will use B10 or 10 percent biodiesel.
Learn more about biodiesel markets and applications at CMT’s 6th Oleochemicals Outlook on 5-6 September 2018 in Bali.
