National Renewable Energy Laboratory says 72 percent of small-producer biodiesel fails to meet ASTM standards; 94 percent of large-producers pass

The National Renewable Energy Lab says that 72 percent of biodiesel from small production plants failed to meet ASTM standards. Teresa Alleman of NREL said that 16 percent of medium-size suppliers met the ASTM standards including flashpoint and glycerine content, while 94 percent of large producers met the ASTM D6751 standard.

94 percent of BQ-9000 certified producers passed the ASTM tests, and NREL believed the one sample that failed was due to sample contamination. Overall, the study looked at samples from 56 different producers.

In 2006, only 40 percent of B100 studied passed the tests.

Around the world, efforts are underway to synchronize standards for sustainable fuels, and to increase compliance.

The United States, Brazil and the European Union (EU) released their “White Paper on Internationally Compatible Biofuels Standards” that will pave the way towards a unified international standard for biodiesel and ethanol. An international committee found that 9 of 16 standards were “in alignment” while 6 could be be aligned in the short term. Only 6 biodiesel standards were found to be aligned, and the committee found recommended that the remainder could be aligned through blending biodiesel varieties.

This week, both the Government of Brazil and the US National Biodiesel Board announced initiatives aimed at producing sustainable fuel standards.

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