US biodiesel standards important - AOCS

29 June 2007 22:12  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Setting appropriate standards is increasingly important to the US biodiesel industry, an American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) representative said on Friday.

“There is a clear need for consistent standards in the US,” said Dr. Richard Cantrill of the AOCS speaking at the Platt’s Biodiesel Investors conference in Houston.

Cantrill said the American Standards and Testing Materials (ASTM) standard is used in the US targeted engine performance only, whereas European standards were based upon quality and performance standards when specifying fuels.

He added that biodiesel testing in the US was less likely to be consistent in finding impurities in feedstock that can cause input/output problems with the biofuel.

Mishandling or a poor choice of feedstock can cause other performance problems such as cold-flow issues, or impurities in co-product glycerine cleaning can develop.

While canola and rapeseed oils offer good performance and co-product qualities, for example, soybean oil can offer these and lower cold-flow issues as well, sources said. 

Cantrill suggested that a harmonious standard across the global industry was a desirable and attainable goal for the biofuel sector.

The AOCS is the largest scientific international member-organisation, composed of nearly 4000 fats and oils professionals from all over the world.

By: Judith Taylor
+1 713 525 2653

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