Controlling the fuel quality requirements
Despite its valuable advantages, biogenic fuels right from
the start had to struggle for acceptance. Reports highlighting
engine problems due to poor quality biofuels
discredited the promising biogenic fuel. Not until quality
standards (see table) were defined did the quality of biofuels
and its acceptance improve.
If the standard is mentioned in the following table this
means that Metrohm instruments meet the stipulated
minimum requirements for use in the standardized
test method. The character «#» stands for a check
of the quality criteria using a different testing method.
| Parameter / Method |
Biodiesel |
Bioethanol |
Vegetable oil |
| |
EN 142141
EN 142132 |
ASTM 6751 |
prEN 153763 |
ASTM D 48064
ASTM D 57985 |
DIN V 51605 |
Oxidation stability |
EN 14112 |
# |
- |
- |
EN 14112 |
Water content KF (coul.) |
EN ISO 12937 |
# |
prEN 15489 |
ASTM E 1064 |
EN ISO 12937 |
Water content KF (vol.) |
|
|
ASTM E 203 |
|
pH value |
- |
- |
prEN 15490 |
# |
- |
Chloride |
- |
- |
prEN 15484 / 15492 |
ASTM D 512 |
- |
Sulfate |
- |
- |
- |
ASTM D 7318/ 7319 |
- |
Acid number |
EN 14104 |
ASTM D 664 |
prEN 15491 |
ASTM D 1613 |
EN 14104 |
Iodine number |
EN 14111 |
- |
- |
- |
EN 14111 |
Alkali metals and alkaline earth
metals |
# |
# |
- |
- |
# |
Antioxidants |
recommended |
- |
- |
- |
recommended |
1 Automotive fuel
2 Heating oil
3 European standard for bioethanol, currently under
approval.
4 Standard specification for denatured alcohol
used as an additive to fossil fuels.
5 Standard specification for mixtures of bioethanol
and gasoline (Ed75-Ed85).
While the analysis of sulfate is specified in a number of
ASTM standards, until recently, the ASTM D 4806-06b standard
– the specification for denatured fuel ethanol –
provided no guidelines for total and potential sulfate. Recognizing
the need for validated quality control methods, ASTM balloted
and approved a sulfate specification for fuel ethanol stipulating
a maximum level of sulfate in ethanol of 4 parts per million
(ppm). Ion chromatography (IC) is at the leading edge of this
effort.
|
