It has nearly been eight years since Petronas introduced its Dynamic Diesel Euro 5 with Pro-Drive, and as you’d expect, there have been revisions to its formulation since its Euro 5 iteration was introduced at the end of 2017, specifically in terms of its additive packages.
As to how many, there have been a few, according to Petronas fuel technology manager Mohamad Hafiz Abd Aziz. “Development of the additives is done every two years. We don’t shout about it, but we change it every two years,” he said.
The most recent update to the fuel has brought about significant gains, enough that the company can shout about it in quantifiable terms, something it usually never does, with up to a 20% improvement in fuel economy and a cleanliness efficiency of 99% being the leading points. Additionally, there is also an improvement in engine smoothness and power, encapsulated in its latest catchphrase, Pikap Cekap ke Destinasi.
These new aspects of the fuel were highlighted during a special Dynamic Journeys powered by Dynamic Diesel series engagement with the media, which involved a site visit to its subsidiary Malaysian Refining Company’s (MRCSB) Melaka Energy Park facility, located in Sungai Udang, Melaka.
Here, the science behind how the improvements were achieved was detailed. “In developing fuels, we do a lot of testing, and these are not our own in-house ones, but based on industry standard test protocols. Worldwide, when we are developing the fuels, there are key requirements that we need to fulfill. One of these is the cleaning performance,” Mohamad Hafiz said.
“The two things that we have improved in the latest iteration of Dynamic Diesel is the inclusion of dual-detergent chemistry and a proprietary combustion improver,” he said.
While keeping key components – such as injectors – clean is vital, he stated that this should be done both inside and out. He said that much of the focus on keeping the diesel system clean usually revolved around the injector hose, but this isn’t enough, particularly with regards to common rail systems.
“Addressing the typical injector hose is one element. Of course, if there’s a lot of carbon in the hose, you cannot spray the fuel. But one thing that people tend to forget when developing a fuel is the inside of the injectors. If there is a carbon build-up at the injectors, the injectors will get clogged, which is an issue particularly when you’re using common rail,” he said.
“That’s why we have dual-detergent chemistry to address both critical parts of the diesel engine system, not just the injector hoses but also inside the injectors,” he added. The additive package also provides a protective layer on the metal surface to prevent the build-up of new carbon deposits.
Mohamad Hafiz said the cleaning performance of its latest additive package is reflected in the fuel’s rating in Internal Diesel Injector Deposits (IDID) tests carried out by the company.
“It shows in our rating, which is 30. This is the maximum rating that we can get based on the test, which is a very severe test. It’s not based on the one hour or two hours that you see in a typical lab test, but involves an engine test bed, and it will run 30 hours, 32 hours or 60 hours to see the impact on the additives that we have,” he explained.
“When you have very good cleanliness at your injector hose and your injector needles, you’ll be able to deliver very good fuel economy. Additionally, we have a combustion improver technology, one that is not available to others because it’s proprietary, to enhance the efficiency of the fuel combustion. Every single drop of fuel that we burn has to deliver power that we need. We don’t waste any fuel,” he stated.
The gains in fuel economy are significant, with Petronas putting numbers down to reflect its confidence in the fuel. “In the lab, the new Dynamic Diesel formulation shows up to 20% in fuel economy improvement, which is equivalent to about 222 km extra per tank of fuel. Meaning to say, you can go further, up to Ipoh (from KL),” he said.
Of course, selecting the right chemistries that work in the lab or an engine test bed in the engine test is one thing, but evaluating the fuel in real world conditions with actual vehicles was necessary to validate the findings. “We had to make sure that whatever that we developed in the lab and tested on the engine test bed was achievable also in the real world,” he said.
The company trialled the fuel on several types of vehicle brand models, and said fuel economy gains were registered on all evaluators, with one achieving as high as a 36% improvement in fuel economy. Four of the other eight test mules also recorded more than a 20% improvement, tying in with the lab results.
He also highlighted other areas of improvement brought about by the fuel. “Besides fuel consumption, another thing that people are looking for is acceleration and power performance. Because every single drop of fuel that we burn is able to deliver extra power as a result of the combustion improver, we got up to 5% greater acceleration power and up to 3% power gain on the vehicle tests that we carried out,” he said.
On the test bed, he said it was shown that the dual-detergent package in Dynamic Diesel was able to clean a dirty engine and restore the power up to 99% within eight hours, with the proprietary combustion improver also providing an additional power gain of 1% to 2%.
During the test cycle, the fuel also had to minimise power loss to less than 2% for a period of time. “This is as per requirement by industry standards, minimising power loss to less than 2% for about 10 to 22 hours. This is a standard test protocol to define the cleanliness and the efficiency of the fuel to ensure that the cleanliness of the engine is maintained,” he explained.
As is was before, Petronas Dynamic Diesel Euro 5 continues to have a high cetane number (around 55 and above), which results in a shorter ignition delay, making for easier starts and smoother engine performance. Mohamad Hafiz says it hasn’t been necessary to use cetane additives to improve the rating, because biodiesel already aids in that process naturally.
“We don’t need to put in a cetane improver to our additive package, because the biodiesel that we are using now, 7%, 10%, and in certain cases, even 20%, will increase the cetane rating above 55. Whatever you get at our stations, it’s more than 55,” he said.
Mohamad Hafiz ended his presentation by saying that there is no need for aftermarket fuel additives if users are using Petronas fuels. “What is inside our fuels are customised, so we have more active ingredients as compared to those in the market, and these provide a similar function, if not better,” he said.
The presentation was concluded with a quick tour around Melaka Energy Park, which contributes to around 60% of Peninsular Malaysia’s petroleum product demand. Boasting a daily production rate of 300,000 barrels, the facility is equipped with several specialised processing units designed with the flexibility to handle various crude oils from sweet crudes to heavier imported crude oils. The latest addition to the energy park, the Delima plant, was launched in 2021, and produces Euro 5 diesel.
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