B50 at fuel terminals: what changes in terminal automation

When a terminal moves from B40 to B50, its automation system needs updates to product master data, blend recipes and ratios, density and temperature tables, batch controller configuration and delivery documents, followed by a full retest before dispatch.

B50 is diesel fuel (minyak solar) that contains biodiesel at a minimum share of 50%. This guide looks at the change from the terminal system's side. It covers what the decree requires, where blending happens, which parts of the control and business systems change, and how Citia handled the product update at the Padalarang fuel terminal. The first mention of the terminal automation system and its batch controller is the best starting point for newcomers. Status is given as of 13 November 2026.

B50 is diesel that contains at least 50% biodiesel, up from 40% under B40.

Keputusan Menteri ESDM Nomor 257.K/EK.01/MEM.E/2026 sets the target as a minimum of 50% biodiesel for all diesel fuel. The minister signed it on 17 June 2026 and it applies from 1 July 2026. It revokes the B40 decree, Kepmen 341.K/EK.01/MEM.E/2024, and puts the blending duty on fuel business entities (badan usaha BBM). Non-compliance can bring administrative sanctions: a written warning, temporary suspension or revocation of the business licence.

The ministry's press page describes B50 as 50% palm-based biodiesel and 50% diesel, following B20, B30 and B40. The decree also has the minister evaluate implementation every three months.

The ministry's press page does not print the decree number. The number and the clauses above come from press coverage that quotes the decree and from the Climate Change Laws of the World database. Read the decree on the ministry's legal database before quoting it in a contract.

Blending means mixing biodiesel into diesel in the right proportion before the fuel leaves the terminal.

A terminal can do this in more than one way, and the choice decides what the automation system must control. What follows is general practice, not a statement about any specific terminal.

In-line blending mixes the two streams in the pipe as the product moves, so the control system holds the ratio by measuring both flows and adjusting valves or pumps. Tank blending mixes by transfer and circulation, so the system tracks tank contents and proves the mix is uniform before release. Sequential loading puts the two products into the same compartment one after the other, so the batch controller follows a recipe with the right order and quantities.

The Padalarang update shows how small and strict a product change is in practice.

The project record says the transition from Biosolar B40 to Biosolar B50 took effect on 1 July 2026 at Pertamina Fuel Terminal Padalarang, and that the update centred on the FD Flow application that handles product transactions. The product code changes from the B40 scheme to B50, which brings the risk of selecting the wrong product or recording the wrong transaction.

Two material codes were active: Biofame A040900014 and Biosolar B50 A040900219. The PSO and NPSO material codes were still pending, so the system handled only the active materials that had been set. Citia also supports this terminal's TAS under a long-term service agreement, described in Padalarang TAS lifecycle support.

A product change is tested from the master record to the posting, not only at the screen.

The CATALYST CT-BC interface passes batch controller data from the loading bay to the terminal automation system, so it sits in the middle of this path and belongs in the test plan.

The path runs from the recipe in the application, through the batch controller presets, to the meters and valves at the bay, then back up to the loading transaction, the delivery documents and the SAP posting. A fault can hide at any step. A correct recipe is useless if the controller still holds the old preset, and a correct loading is useless if the document prints the old product name.

Include negative tests. Try a pending material code and confirm the system refuses it. Try the old B40 code after the cut-over date and confirm it follows the rule your terminal has chosen. Compare the blend ratio from recorded meter totals with the recipe, and take samples where your quality procedure requires them.

Traceability means being able to say which biodiesel went into which delivery.

The decree's annex sets quality parameters that biodiesel must meet before it is blended. Press coverage counts 24 of them and quotes examples such as density, water content and methyl ester content. The decree makes biofuel businesses, distributors and fuel businesses responsible for applying the standards and for keeping the quality of the blend.

A terminal that blends should keep a chain of records. It starts with the receipt of the biodiesel and its quality certificate, then the tank or line it went to, the blend record with the ratio achieved, and the delivery notes that carry the blended product. A simple identifier shared by receipt, blend and delivery turns a quality query into a search that takes minutes.

Density deserves a note. Biodiesel density is specified as a range and diesel has its own, so the density of a blend moves with the ratio. A terminal that converts volume to weight should hold density per product and not reuse the B40 value for B50.

The values above are examples of biodiesel quality parameters as reported by Fortune IDN for the decree annex. Confirm every value in the annex before using it in a specification.

A product change leaves traces in the pipes, so plan the changeover as an operation, not only as a software task.

When a loading arm or a line moves from B40 to B50, the product already in the line is still B40 until it is flushed through. Decide which deliveries take that first volume and write the rule into the procedure. A tank that held B40 and now receives a blend with a different ratio needs the same care: record the tank's product history, so the next quality query has an answer.

Watch the operator screens and the printed documents during the first shifts after cut-over. Operators choose a product by habit, and the system should make the wrong choice hard: a clear product name, a disabled old code, and a warning when a vehicle's order does not match the selected product.