JAKARTA – The National Energy Council (DEN) said that gasoline with the mixture of palm oil or bio-gasoline is potential alternative to replace the fossil-based Pertalite and Pertamax, which are widely used as energy sources in Indonesia. Locally known as Bensa, the palm oil-based bio-gasoline is ecofriendly and cheaper than other fossil fuels.
“With Ron of 120, Bensa has a very good quality. As the world’s largest producer of palm oil, we have enough raw material at home. Its price is cheaper than Pertamax Turbo,” DEN Secretary General Djoko Siswanto told detikcom on Friday (12/1/2024).
Djoko said that the price of Bensa is around Rp15,000 per liter, while Pertamax Turbo is now Rp15,350 per liter. With its efficiency, Bensa can replace the position of Pertamax Turbo in stages.
“We’ll use Bensa to replace Pertamax Turbo, Pertamax, and Pertalite. For such replacement, we’ll first stop using Pertamax Turbo, then Pertamax, and later Pertalite in stages,” said Djoko.
According to him, the policy to use Bensa is part of the government’s policy to accelerate the implementation of green energy program in Indonesia. Pertamax Turbo will be replaced with Bensa as the majority of its consumers are those of middle and upper class.
“We target the green energy first for the rich people due to their high purchasing power. That way we can accelerate the realization of Net Zero Emission target in Indonesia in 2060,” he said.
More efficient
Based on data gathered by detikcom, Bensa was introduced by a research team of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and PT Kemurgi Indonesia during the event of Indonesian Palm Oil Research Week (Perisai) in Medan, North Sumatera province (Sumut). During the event, the team presented Bensa as a cheaper and more efficient green energy source.
“This palm-based gasoline is in similar quality with the gasoline that is widely used now in Indonesia,” the ITB-Kemurgi Indonesia Research Team Member Muhammad Ferian during the event on Thursday (20/10/2022).
Ferian said that Bensa has RON 110, which is higher than those widely used for vehicles in Indonesia at 90-98. To prove that Bensa can be used, the ITB team conducted a test drive of 2,000 km from Bogor in West Java to Medan in North Sumatra.
“By using the palm Bensa in our cars we traveled around 2.000 km. Alhamdulillah (Thanks God) our vehicles have no problems,” he said.
When traveling to Medan, Ferian mixed 20% of Pertamax Turbo with 80% of the bio-gasoline. The bio-gasoline is more efficient and can travel up to 33 km per liter.
Meanwhile, Subagjo, a professor of chemical engineering at the Faculty of Industrial Engineering of ITB, said that the Bensa is more hygienic and can produce higher octane.
“The palm Bensa is cleaner than fossil gasoline. Bensa contains no sulfur and produces high octane,” said Subagjo. (*)
Source: sawitindonesia.com
