B40 Road-Test Review in September 2022: Routes Extended, No Final Results Yet

Jakarta — Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) aimed to finish its B40 biodiesel road test by December 2022 following an initial review held on 23 September. In a report published on 26 September, bioenergy director Edi Wibowo said all test vehicles were running, but daily mileage and routes had been expanded to catch up with the timetable. The final test results and any decision to mandate B40 had not been announced at this stage.

The road test assessed palm-based blends in diesel engines before a policy decision. ANTARA, also reporting on 26 September, carried Edi's account of the fuel formulas, schedule and revised routes. Both sources describe a review while testing was under way, not the start of a new national mandate.

Two different fuel blends

ESDM said the test covered two formulations in separate phases. B30D10 contained 30% FAME biodiesel (B100), 10% renewable diesel or hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO/D100), and 60% fossil diesel (B0). The B40 formulation contained 40% B100 biodiesel and 60% B0. Both contain a 40% renewable component, but their constituents and production routes differ.

Edi cited proposed tighter B100 specifications for the test: a maximum water content cut from 350 to 320 parts per million, a maximum monoglyceride content cut from 0.55% to 0.5% by mass, and a minimum oxidation stability increased from 600 to 720 minutes. He referred to a technical committee proposal. The review report itself did not establish that those thresholds had become binding standards for all commercial supply.

More daily mileage to meet the timetable

Three makes of diesel vehicles weighing less than 3.5 tonnes and three makes above that threshold were included, with two units of each make: 12 test vehicles in all. Edi said obtaining spare parts after an initial overhaul had been a challenge, although every vehicle had begun the road test by the time of the review.

For the lighter group, the daily mileage target increased from 560 to 650 kilometres, with a route through Cileunyi, Ciamis, Kuningan, Pemalang and Subang. For the heavier group, it increased from 400 to 550 kilometres on a route through Pasteur, Cikampek, Cipali, Tegal and Subang. ANTARA also reported these adjustments. They were steps to complete the test on schedule, not measured improvements in vehicle efficiency.

Evidence required before a policy recommendation

The assessment covered fuel consumption, fuel and lubricant quality, chassis-dynamometer performance, vehicle-component condition, storage stability, engine startability and possible precipitation. ESDM said LEMIGAS was conducting the work with an EBTKE testing agency and Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), funded by the plantation fund agency BPDPKS. Pertamina supplied fossil diesel and HVO, while the Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association (APROBI) supplied B100.

The test matters directly to the biodiesel market: raising the FAME share from B30 to B40 would place different demands on supply and fuel-quality controls. Yet the 26 September reports did not present final consumption, lubricant or engine-component results. December was a completion target, not evidence that the blend had passed every test or a date when B40 would become mandatory.

At this point there were three distinct stages: conducting the test, drawing technical recommendations and adopting a nationwide requirement. The first was still under way. Describing the review as if it had completed the latter stages would misstate the programme's status in September 2022.