PTT to conduct field trial of B7 biodiesel on public buses

PTT Plc, Thailand’s national oil conglomerate, will hold a field trial of B7 biodiesel on public buses in Bangkok starting April, with commercial sales planned soon, the Bangkok Post reports.
Ten #525 buses of the Bangkok Mass Transport Authority (BMTA) running the Min Buri-Nong Chok route will fill their tanks with B7 from April-June.
BMTA buses travel about 300 kilometers along Bangkok roads each day, and PTT expects to use 45,000 liters of B7 per month.
“The field trial will reveal any negative effects that may occur to the engine or fuel efficiency,” said Sarun Rungkasiri, a senior executive vice-president of PTT. “We will report the results to the energy ministry and car makers.”
He said the results will help to establish B7 guidelines for use in vehicles.
The Energy Business Department will set B7 quality standards for biodiesel producers to comply with; commercial production of the fuel will soon follow.
“The trial is aimed at guaranteeing the quality of the new green biodiesel for vehicles,” said Sarun.
Biodiesel is one of the green fuels the government plans to use to cut fossil fuel consumption.
It was first introduced in 2004, with a low percentage of methyl ester (2%) mixed with diesel or B2.
The government increased the mix to 3% and 5% in 2008, and it now stands at 7%.
PTT is already working on the next stage, B20 or a 20% methyl ester mix.
Sarun said Thailand’s stocks of crude palm oil (CPO), a main ingredient of biofuel, has doubled to 400,000 tons from a year ago.
Each 1% of pure methyl ester biodiesel requires 10,000 tons of CPO per month.
BMTA Director Opart Petchmanee said it is ready to comply with the government’s policy on biodiesel in order to improve Bangkok’s air quality.
BMTA will pay US$449.3 million for 3,183 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses to replace 2,800 buses with diesel engines that consume 300,000 liters a day.
Only private buses have shifted to CNG since 2011.
Longer term, BMTA will add more public biofuel buses instead of expanding the CNG fleet for fear of depleting domestic natural gas resources.
(March 25, 2013)