Isuzu Malaysia confirms B10 biodiesel fuel compatibility of its existing vehicles

KUALA LUMPUR: Alongside launching the 1.9-litre Ddi BluePower turbocharged diesel mill, Isuzu also confirmed that all of its existing models are compatible with the B10 biodiesel. All of the vehicles sold by the company, including the Mu-X SUV, D-Max pickup, and the lorries would run on the fuel seamlessly.

The Malaysian automobile market has already seen the transition from B7 grade diesel to B10 biodiesel, implemented in the transportation sector from December 2018. Although a few of the automakers had presented their concerns regarding the use of the biodiesel in the past, Isuzu Malaysia has made it clear that all its models can use the new grade fuel.

The B7 diesel grade prevalent in Malaysia has 7% blend of biodiesel (Palm methyl ester), which is also the maximum mixture percentage permitted by most automakers regarding the compatibility. Anything beyond that might create concerns in the diesel cars’ fuel system. The B10 biodiesel, on the other hand, is a mixture of 10% Palm methyl ester and 90% regular diesel.

According to the biodiesel technology research head at Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Dr. Harrison Lau, the B10 biodiesel would reap benefits in two ways. Firstly, the new B10 blend would help in lowering the impact of increasing fuel consumption on the environment with global warming and acid rain. For the other, it will also decrease the fuel consumption in diesel vehicles since the new mixture has a better burn efficiency.

It is noteworthy that many countries already use the B10 biodiesel mixture, including Argentina, the United States of America, and Colombia. The use of more CPO (Crude Palm Oil) in the mix, Malaysia has managed to bring down its diesel imports by up to 20%.