Malaysia mulls B3
One biodiesel feedstock-rich nation is taking the unusual step and reducing its mandate targets.
Malaysian Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok says the country is likely to reduce its local biodiesel blend to B3 from the current B5 mandate, due to the slow usage and costly government subsidy.
Under the current mandate, the government has set a January 2010 deadline to sell B5 biodiesel, a mixture of 5% palm oil and 95% diesel. If the government holds to B5, it will have to spend about RM250 million (€49.7 million) that is needed by the industry to blend the mix and distribute it to petrol stations.
Malaysia had planned for the B5 mandate to be rolled out in stages, starting from February this year with government vehicles, followed by the industrial and transport sectors. So far, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Selangor's Public Works Department and the Army have been using biodiesel in their vehicles.
Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) director-general Datuk Mohd Basri Wahid says: ‘The national biodiesel policy remains the same. We're just looking at the implementation with the oil companies, the cost, and logistics. So far, 4,000 government vehicles are using B5.’
MPOB has achieved success in its oil palm genome sequencing that would help scientists breed trees that are more disease resistant and yield more oil in its fruit bunches.
‘MPOB is collaborating with South Korean Macrogen and American researcher Orion Genomics. So far, they have generated 400 sequences, representing 90% of the functional genes in oil palm trees,’ he adds.
Malaysian Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok says the country is likely to reduce its local biodiesel blend to B3 from the current B5 mandate, due to the slow usage and costly government subsidy.
Under the current mandate, the government has set a January 2010 deadline to sell B5 biodiesel, a mixture of 5% palm oil and 95% diesel. If the government holds to B5, it will have to spend about RM250 million (€49.7 million) that is needed by the industry to blend the mix and distribute it to petrol stations.
Malaysia had planned for the B5 mandate to be rolled out in stages, starting from February this year with government vehicles, followed by the industrial and transport sectors. So far, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Selangor's Public Works Department and the Army have been using biodiesel in their vehicles.
Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) director-general Datuk Mohd Basri Wahid says: ‘The national biodiesel policy remains the same. We're just looking at the implementation with the oil companies, the cost, and logistics. So far, 4,000 government vehicles are using B5.’
MPOB has achieved success in its oil palm genome sequencing that would help scientists breed trees that are more disease resistant and yield more oil in its fruit bunches.
‘MPOB is collaborating with South Korean Macrogen and American researcher Orion Genomics. So far, they have generated 400 sequences, representing 90% of the functional genes in oil palm trees,’ he adds.
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