B10 fuel: 3,000,000km with DBKL
KUALA Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has been actively “greening” Kuala Lumpur with trees, shrubs and flowers but many do not realise that it has also been going “green” with its fuel.
Since January 2014, DBKL has been testing biodiesel in its vehicle fleet. With the assistance and support of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), as many as 50 vehicles have been using B10 (10 percent palm oil content) biodiesel.
Muhammad Alif Muhammad Noor, a mechanical engineer at DBKL’s mechanical and electrical engineering department, said DBKL wad seriously considering extending the use of B10 to its entire 2,040-vehicle fleet after more than three million kilometres without any problems using the B10.
We recently had the opportunity to speak to three drivers - Ballu Subayan (Nissan Navara), Rahman Ismail (Nissan UD LKA Tipper truck) and Hamdan Main (Hitachi Excavator).
Ballu, who drives staff to and fro in DBKL’s Nissan Navara, covers up to 70km a day and reports absolutely no problems with the fuel. The Navara has been using B10 exclusively since the beginning and the vehicle is now due for a stripdown at a Nissan workshop to assess the wear and tear.
Rahman’s Nissan UD switched from normal diesel to B10 biodiesel and he reports no difference between the two fuels.
Even carrying heavy loads such as tree trunks and construction debris, the truck does not perform any differently. However, he says the particulate emissions or smoke are distinctly lower after switching to the biodiesel.
In fact, during a Department of Environment (DOE) free acceleration test to measure Hartridge Smoke Unit (HSU) levels, DBKL vehicles using B10 registered a readings of between 2.7 and 2.8, well under the stipulated level of 50 HSU.
Rahman’s Nissan UD will also undergo an overhaul.
The Hitachi excavator’s driver, Hamdan, is a keen advocate of the biodiesel. He even uses less fuel than when using normal diesel (10 litres per hour from 11 litres per hour). This is substantiated by the records of the fuel pumped in and the hours in which he uses the excavator. DBKL pumps B10 from their two 16,000-litre skid tanks and every litre is accounted for in a record book.
“The B10 biodiesel is in line with DBKL’s very own policy of creating a greener city. What is most obvious is that B10 has reduced exhaust emissions and lower toxicity levels compared to petroleum-based diesel,” said Muhammad.
Source: New Straits Times | Read More Here Hits: 3830
