Through a cost-benefit analysis, Malaysia’s plantation and commodities ministry (KPK) expects the increase in the biodiesel blend from B10 to B12 or B15 in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah to cut diesel consumption by 334,139 tonnes a year (or about 386.73 million litres annually), lengthening the country’s diesel supply by as many as 20 days, Bernama reports.
“This proves that the National Biodiesel Programme is able to strengthen the nation’s energy security and enhance Malaysia’s resilience against supply disruptions and volatility in the global energy market,” KPK said yesterday in a written reply on the parliament website.
The ministry was replying to Senator Norhasmimi Abdul Ghani, who asked how effective Malaysia’s biodiesel programme has been in reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels and lowering diesel costs for domestic users.
“As the world faced geopolitical uncertainty and a global energy crisis that disrupted supply chains and fuel prices, Malaysia took proactive steps by increasing the biodiesel blend rate for the nationwide transport sector. This will reduce dependence on fossil fuel, strengthen the nation’s energy security and extend the availability of existing diesel supplies,” said KPK.
Malaysia currently has 20 biodiesel plants with sufficient capacity to support up to a 30% biodiesel blend but most are operating below capacity because demand is currently limited to B10 at petrol stations and B7 in certain industrial sectors.
Comprising 15% palm methyl ester (PME) and 85% petroleum diesel, B15 biodiesel replaces the B10 blend at no additional cost to the end user. There are plans to step up to B20, B30 and maybe even B50 in the future. Do you drive a diesel vehicle? Here’s what some carmakers – including Isuzu, Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, Ford and Mitsubishi – have to say about B15 for their engines.
