Biodiesel fuel standards

The Biodiesel Stability (BIOSTAB) project, supported by the European Commission, was initiated in 2001 to establish clear criteria and analytical methods for the monitoring biodiesel fuel stability (Various, 2003 Prankl, 2002). The resulting unified method, EN 14112 (Anon., 2003c) established a means for measuring oxidative stability utilizing the Rancimat or oxidation stability instruments. This test method was essentially developed from standards employed in the fats and oils industry to measure isothermally the induction period for oxidation of fatty derivatives. At present, both biodiesel fuel standards ASTM D 6751 (Anon., 2007a) and EN 14214 (Anon., 2003b) include an oxidative stability specification based on measurement by method EN 14112. 

Anon. 2007a. D 6751-06b Standard Specification for Biodiesel Fuel Blend Stock (B100) for Middle Distillate Fuels. In Annual Book of ASTM Standards (05.04). West Conshohocken PA ASTM International. 

This book is composed of 32 chapters divided into three sections. The first 10 chapters describe the world s newest biodiesel research. Included is biodiesel research at NCAUR, USDA, production of biodiesel fuel through bioprocesses, a biodiesel cost optimizer-least cost raw material blending for standard quality biodiesel, new catalytic systems for vegetable oil transesterification... 

Standard canola oil is high in CIS fatty acids, about 95%, which is higher than the other commodity vegetable oils. It is high in CIS In - 9 oleic acid at about 60%, much higher than any other vegetable oils, and it is relatively low in polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic at about 21%, and linolenic at about 10%. Viscosity, cold hlter plugging point, and cetane number are some of the most important biodiesel fuel properties influenced by fatty acid composition. 

Standard specification for biodiesel fuel (BlOO) blend stock for distillate fuels, ASTM Standards D-6751,. ... 

ASTM International, ASTM D 6751 Standard Specification far Biodiesel Fuel Blendstock (BlOO) for Middle Distillate Fuels. ASTM International, Conshohocken, PA, USA. 

ASTM, 2000c. D4860 Free water and particulate contamination in middle distillate fuels. In V. A. Mayer (ed.). Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Section 5, Petroleum Products and Lubricants, Vol. 05.02. Philadelphia, American Society for Testing and Materials, pp. 1113-1118. ASTM, 2000d. PS 121 Provisional specifications for biodiesel fuel (BlOO) blend stock for distillate fuels. In V. A. Mayer (ed.). Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Section 5, Petroleum Products and Lubricants, Vol. 05.04. Philadelphia, American Society for Testing and Materials,... 

Fuel Standards and Test Methods for Pure Biodiesel... 

Fuel Standards ASTM D7467 for B6 to B20 and CAN/CGSB-3.520 for B1 to B5 Blended Biodiesel-Petroleum Diesel Fuel... 

ASTM ASTM D 6751. Standard specification for biodiesel fuel blend stock (B100) for middle distUate fuels. ASTM International. West Conshohocken P... 

The properties of a biodiesel fuel that are determined by the structure of its component fatty esters include ignition quality, cold flow, oxidative stability, viscosity, and lubricity. The present work discusses the influence of the structure of fatty esters on these properties. Not all of these properties have been included in biodiesel standards, although all of them are essential to the proper functioning of the fuel. This article begins, however, with brief summaries on the historical background, production, and analysis of biodiesel. 

Ha, V.T.T., Chuc, M.N., Pham, T.T., Ngoc, L.H., Nguyen, T.T.T., Le Minh, V., Le Anh, T., et al., 2009a. Final Report of a National Project on Assessment of Current Biodiesel Production Technology and Conducting Field Tests for Biodiesel Fuel Based Cat-Fished Oil, Contrihution to Process of Completion of Biodiesel Standard in Vietnam. Vietnamese Institute of Industrial Chemistry. 

Fuel Standard (2008) requires 5.0 x 10 gallons of biodiesel (or biomass-derived diesel, e.g., hydrotreated plant oils) in the domestic diesel pool in 2009 and 1 x 10 gallons by 2012 (Tullo, 2008). 

As mentioned above, the viscosity is an important physical parameter. Table 14.7 presents comparatively the values recommended by the standards for diesel fuels in the USA and Europe. It can be observed that they are in a small range, but the upper limit is somewhat higher for biodiesel with respect to petrodiesel. Actually, the fatty esters exhibit larger variation of viscosity due to their chemical nature compared with hydrocarbon molecules. Influencing factors are chain length, position, number, and nature of double bonds, as well as the nature of the... 

Without the Biodiesel Standard, there would be no sustainable biodiesel market. The Biodiesel Standard guarantees that products are properly tested for blend properties, performance in engine use, and functionality with injection systems used in the modern common rail diesel engines. Many car manufacturers state that FAME used in commercial fuel must meet both standard references EN14214, the European Biodiesel Standard, and ASTM D 6751, the U. S. Biodiesel Standard (Table 3.1). Making biodiesel that complies with the applicable Biodiesel Standard helps guarantee the functionality and performance in transport engines. 

Fuel density is important for blending characteristics, but also relates to emission levels, fuel consumption, and emission control systems. Similarly, the viscosity of the fuel is important. Kinematic Viscosity is included in the Biodiesel Standard because it relates directly to the injection system performance. In the Biodiesel Standards, viscosity is often set at a specific temperature point. With most fatty acid methyl esters this is never a problem, but viscosity changes at low temperature can be much more problematic. Biodiesel tends to thicken faster than fossil diesel. Specific additives might be required to deal with this. 

Most biodiesel synthesis processes produce a fuel that has a slight contamination with acylglycerols, and this fact is recognized in most current biodiesel standards (Table 1). In spite of their low concentrations, these acylglycerols may contribute disproportionately to fuel lubricity. 

Market projection studies indicate that biodiesel which meets the ASTM standards will be manufactured and distributed initially for niche market applications such as government bus and truck fleets where the mandates of the Clean Air Act of 1990 require the use of cleaner burning alternative fuels. A major difficulty regarding large-scale marketing of biodiesel is consumer cost. This subject will be examined later in Section IV, but is not expected to be an insurmountable barrier in the long term. 

In addition, slight material changes to diesel fuel systems, and a strict quality standard for biodiesel in the United States, could lead to substantially greater savings in petroleum usage and reductions in C02 emissions. 

The ASTM standard does not give restriction to the iodine value of methyl esters but the European biodiesel standard (EN 14214) states that the iodine value should be no more than 120. JCME is within the requirements of EN 14214. The iodine number of conventional (automotive) diesel fuel is reported to be 10. Based on the results shown in Table 2, the iodine value of the methyl esters differs only slightly from that of their parent oil. The iodine value derived from the GC-MS chromatograms are higher than those derived from the Wijs solution method, mainly because Equation 1 assumes full iodonization and treats all the double bonds as being equally reactive to oxidation. ... 

Five diesel fuels with different formulations were tested, a commercial diesel ( standard diesel) available at European gas stations, biodiesel (rape oil methyl ester) and three sulphur-reduced diesel fuels containing defined amounts of aromatic hydrocarbons (see Table 1). 

Stability tests developed for petrodiesel fuels reportedly are not suitable for biodiesel or biodiesel blends with petrodiesel (Canakci et al., 1999 Stavinoha Howell, 1999 Westbrook Stavinoha, 2003), however, appropriate modification may render them useful. Another study (Bondioli et al., 2003) states that the petrodiesel method ASTM D4625 (Standard Test Method for Distillate Fuel Storage Stability at 43°C (110°F) is suitable but not fast. 

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