Expert allays fears about biofuel

Road freight operators have enough time to ready themselves for the introduction of biofuel. According to Raymond Abraham, commercial technical manager for Shell, fears around biodiesel and its impact on equipment are unfounded especially in the light of the strict standards that will govern its use. “Government regulations stipulate that only 5% biodiesel will be blended with diesel. At that level there are no negative effects,” he said. “I think fears around the impact of the use of biodiesel are unfounded. Currently we only consume about 10 billion litres of diesel, so 5% will only be about 500 million litres. Besides being a long way away from producing that amount of biodiesel, we also have enough time for the industry to prepare sufficiently for its use and put together a good sound biodiesel framework.”