PENANG, 15 October 2014 - The issue of petrol subsidy reduction that caused petrol price per litre to increase to RM2.30 from RM2.10 per litre had triggered a reaction among the public, especially among the middle and lower income groups.

However, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)’s innovation of a gadget that has a proven ability to help to save up to 40 percent of normal use in fuel consumption will certainly provide some relief to vehicle owners.

Head of Research, Associate Professor Dr. Soib Taib from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering USM, said that the innovation known as Fuel Capacitor or petrol-saving gadget is very practical when installed on the car engine.

He said that the concept used in the gadget is very simple as it modifies the air-intake system in the engine to help reduce fuel consumption, thereby increasing the number of kilometre to a litre of petrol.

“If we see black exhaust and smoke released by vehicles, it is likely due to the incomplete combustion of the fuel that is fed into the engine.

“Therefore, I designed this Fuel Capacitor to produce a more efficient combustion system and is able reduce fuel consumption by up to 46 percent while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions,” he said.

"This is in line with the Kyoto Protocol which requires countries that signed the agreement to reduce carbon dioxide emissions," he added.

Soib said this at a special press conference to introduce the innovative product here today. The press conference was chaired by the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Dr. Muhamad Jantan.                                                                                                                           

He added that the research carried out on several types of vehicles, including the Proton Wira which has reached a mileage of up to 210,000 km has managed to register an increase of up to 18.5 kilometres per litre, from a normal estimation of 14 kilometres per litre without using a fuel capacitor.

Soib also said tests on relatively new vehicles showed an increase of up to 23 km/litre of petrol.

“With this gadget, users are able to add within 4 to 8 km per litre of petrol to each trip and this help users to save money,” he said.

In the meantime, Muhamad said that the concept of green technology innovation is in line with the agenda of the university, especially in terms of sustainability and innovation that can empower the bottom billions.

Interestingly, he said, the gadget also can be used on any type of car engines, and on both new and old cars.

“We also hope that such innovation can be adopted by industry partners to produce this gadget on an industrial scale. This product provides substantial benefits both to consumers and the environment,” he said. - Text: Marziana Mohamed Alias/Photo: Mohd Fairus Md. Isa