JAKARTA – The ministry of energy and mineral resources (MEMR) is now drafting a roadmap on production of bioavtur based on palm kernel oil (PKO). Previously, the ministry and other stakeholders have managed to conduct a series of tests of using the bioavtur in airplanes.
Edi Wibowo, Bioenergy Director at the MEMR’s new and renewable energy directorate general, confirmed recently that a roadmap of the bio-aviation fuel (bioavtur) is being designed by the government. “We’re designing a roadmap of bioavtur. We’ll also continue evaluating all of the results of tests that we’ve conducted so far,” Edi Wibowo said in Jakarta on Tuesday, 10 October 2023.
According to him, the bioavtur used in the flight tests and ground run contains a mixture of PKO at 2.4% (J2.4).
Regarding the target to start massive production and commercialization of the bioavtur, Edi said they still need to conduct further assessments. So far, the production of bioavtur is not yet as massive as those of biodiesel and bioethanol.
“Biodiesel has been massively produced, while bioethanol is not yet as massive as that of biodiesel. But bioavtur is only produced by Pertamina in limited volume. But once all is ready, we’ll soon commercialize it (biovture),” he said.
Previously, the transportation ministry, Pertamina, Garuda Indonesia and other stakeholders had conducted the engine ground run and flight tests in jet aircraft by using the bioavtur 2.4% (J2.4). The flight test was conducted with commercial jet aircraft of Boeing B737-800 PK-GFX at the Garuda Maintenance Facilities (GMF) on Wednesday, 04 October 2023.
Teguh Jalu Waskito, Head of Airplane Certification Sub-directorate at the air transportation directorate general of the transportation ministry, said that the flight test on commercial airplane is an important achievement in the development of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Indonesia, which meets the safety aspect of airplanes.
According to Teguh, the development of SAF is part of the long term global aspirational goal (LTAG) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to realize the zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in aviation sector in 2050. The aviation sector contributes 2% of the total global CO2 emissions.
Teguh said that looking forward they hope the bioavtur can be massively produced for the implementation of SAF in Indonesia, which is sustainable and ecofriendly. “We hope Indonesia can contribute as the supplier of SAF for global market with a view to reducing the carbon emissions from aviation sector,” Teguh said in a press release issued on Friday, 06 October 2023. (*)
Source: sawitkita.id
