Biotech Updates

New Biodiesel Standards Approved by ASTM

July 11, 2008
http://www.biofuels-news.com/news/astm_approves.html
http://www.biofuelreview.com/content/view/1634/

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) (an international standards organization), recently approved new standards for biodiesel blends. There are three key provisions in the new standards: (1) The conventional petrodiesel specification (ASTM D 975) can now include up to 5% biodiesel, (2) A cold filtration test has been added to the B100 (100% biodiesel) specification (ASTM D 6751), to ensure that “B100 will not contain certain precipitates that can cause filter plugging in cold weather”, and (3) Specifications for blends between B6 and B20 for on-and off-road diesel were created. According to the Biofuels International website, the new specifications in the third provision “will allow the testing of a biodiesel blend against the ASTM numbers for physical verification of quality, rather than relying solely upon the paperwork”. The new changes will take effect within three to five months after publication of the final standards, and are expected to promote “automaker support and consumer demand for biodiesel”.

Related information: ASTM http://www.astm.org/