DIGIVESTASI - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) commented on the blending of kerosene fuel (BBM) with biofuel, specifically molasses-based bioethanol, and specifically the blending of RON 90 fuel (partalite) with bioethanol to produce fuel.

Tutka Ariaji, Director of the Oil and Gas Department of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said Indonesia itself is currently unable to develop bioethanol for large-scale use as a fuel mixture of any kind. In the country. 

He said the government is currently conducting trials of a mixture of Partalite RON 90 and bioethanol to produce RON 92 fuel, but its application still needs to consider domestic bioethanol sources. 

"I think technically there is evidence (of mixing pertalite and bioethanol). But it has not happened on a large scale because it is still a trial. If commercialized on a large scale, where will the ethanol come from, where will the natural resources come from? "This is our main key. It has to be sustainable, it has to be sustainable and we have to make sure it doesn't disturb other parties," Tutka said on Monday (12/2) during a meeting at the House of Representatives, Jakarta, Monday (12/2). Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources building in Jakarta. 

Tutka also said that the introduction of bioethanol blending into all fuels is expected to take a long time. This is also because the main upstream supply chain for bioethanol does not yet exist in Indonesia. "The trial is both technical and commercial, so we still need time," he added. Meanwhile, Tutka also said that bioethanol development cannot be compared to Indonesia's success, especially in the development of palm-based biodiesel.

This is because Indonesia already has a biodiesel supply chain in the upstream sector, namely oil palm plantations. "For ethanol, it still takes time because of the raw materials used. For biodiesel, we have palm oil whose supply chain is upstream, but this (bioethanol containing sugarcane) does not exist. We don't have an upstream supply chain. So I don't think it will be as fast as biodiesel. "Importing definitely increases costs and prices," he said. 

Eddie Wibowo was previously Director of Bioenergy at the Directorate General of New Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EBTKE) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. He said that blending Pertalite fuel with bioethanol produces a fuel product equivalent to RON 92 (Pertamax). 

However, Eddy said, the current commercially implemented fuel blending program with bioethanol is still in subsidized fuel types such as Public Fuel Types (JBU) and Pertamina's Peltamax series, such as the Peltamax Green 95 product. He stated that this continues to be done, even for fuels that are not yet subject to the regulation. 

Meanwhile, Pertalite itself is a special fuel (JBKP) or gets a "subsidy" from the government called "compensation". "We have tested Partalite up to (RON) 92, but the fuel is ordinary, so we made RON 95, so we implemented it like that in Partalmax 95," he said at a conference at the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources Building in Jakarta, quoted on Tuesday (June 2, 2024). 

Eadie said his party has not set a target for when the blending of partallite and bioethanol fuel will be commercially viable. However, it is certain that the company is still waiting for the evaluation of the market test conducted on Pertamax Green 95 using a 5% bioethanol blend (E5).

"We hope to evaluate the market trial later," he added. 

Eadie also revealed that the government needs to clarify the issue of excise tax on bioethanol products before developing bioethanol further. "Non-technical aspects, especially tariff issues, still need to be resolved first," he said.

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