Biodiesel Production in Indonesia

Indonesia is the most significant producer of renewable energy in the world widely known as Biodiesel. Biodiesel is not only environmentally friendly; it is also renewable.

Even amidst massive development, biodiesel has existed since 160 years ago. In 1853, E. Duffy and J. Patrick attempted to produce biodiesel. Forty years later, Rudolf Diesel discovered a diesel machine, using peanuts as its fuel, the first Biodiesel feedstock.

Nowadays, biodiesel is produced using various feedstocks. One of the most prolific feedstocks for biodiesel is palm oil. One hectare of oil palm plantation can produce around 3,5 tons of palm oil. Biodiesel produced in Indonesia mainly uses the trans-esterification method. Here is the process flow of trans-esterification:

Purification
Crude Palm Oil (CPO) is cleansed, and odor is eliminated, which will then be refined to produce Refined, Bleached, and Deodorized Palm Oil (RBDPO).

Transesterification
In this process, RBDPO is fused with methanol and sodium methylate

Washing
After transesterification, the product goes through the washer to eliminate compounds from contamination.

Drainage
Drainage is a process to increase biodiesel’s quality. In this step, moisture will be dried out through a heating process for a certain period.

Filtration
Lastly, the product will go through a filtering process to eliminate unwanted particulate and molecules.

High-quality Biodiesel is then produced, ready to be distributed, and be used.

Now that we understand the process of producing Biodiesel before it can be used as alternative energy. We are extremely fortunate to have an abundance of renewable materials for us to use and grow back into an energy-friendly environment. It’s time for us to shift to less polluted and low carbon emission fuel. It’s now or never! Let’s make a change.