DBKL’s Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Department engineer Muhammad Alif Muhammad Noor said this was in line with DBKL’s initiative to make Kuala Lumpur a green city.
“We have 2,040 vehicles. Half of them currently use diesel. We plan to migrate all of them by year end with the support of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB),” he told the press at the field testing of DBKL vehicles using the B10 biodiesel here, today.
Biodiesel is fuel that is derived from palm oil and fossil fuel. Usage of biodiesel blends is not new in Malaysia as it was introduced in 2011, with B5 biodiesel followed by B7 in December 2014.
Since 2014, all diesel sold in Malaysia has 7% palm oil content, and is thus referred to as B7.
The government plans to increase this to 10% (B10) later this year.
It was reported that one of the benefits of using B10 biodiesel is that it can greatly reduce greenhouse carbon emissions.
Alif said all DBKL vehicles which underwent the B10 field test had shown significant reduction in carbon emissions.
“We randomly selected two vehicles to be tested for carbon emission – our pick-up truck, Navara, and one of our lorries, Nissan UD LKA,” he said.
The test was conducted by the Department of Environment (DoE).
“Our Nissan UD LKA produces only 2.8% emission while our pick-up truck, Navara, 2.7%.
“This is excellent, as the DoE cut line is 50%. This is far better than the normal diesel,” he said.
B10 biodiesel vehicle field testing has been conducted by DBKL in collaboration with MPOB since Jan 9, 2014.
“Since the project started, there has been no problem with those vehicles using the B10 biodiesel. There is also little to no fuel cost savings as the result shows the same performance as B7 would,” said Alif.
To ensure the quality of the biodiesel blend, MPOB, the organisation developing the technology for biodiesel production in Malaysia, does regular quality checks at DBKL, which stores it in skid tanks after getting its supply from private petroleum companies.
MPOB principal research officer Wan Hasamuddin Wan Hassan said a routine check-up was performed to ensure the quality of the biodiesel blend was just right.
“When the supplies arrive, MPOB will perform a routine checkup on both DBKL skid tanks to make sure the blends are up to our standards,” he said.
Wan Hasamuddin said the current B7 biodiesel (Euro 5) pumps would still be provided at all petrol stations even after the B10 biodiesel rollout.
“Euro 5 B7 pumps will still be there. Now consumers have a choice to pump either B7 or B10, subject to their engine capacities of course,” he said.