Technical standards

Biodiesel sample

The common international standard for biodiesel is EN 14214.

There are additional national specifications. ASTM D6751 is the most common standard referenced in the United States and Canada. In Germany, the requirements for biodiesel are fixed in the DIN EN 14214 standard and in the UK the requirements for biodiesel is fixed in the BS EN 14214 standard, although these last two standards are essentially the same as EN 14214 and are just prefixed with the respective national standards institution codes.
There are standards for three different varieties of biodiesel, which are made of different oils:

• RME (rapeseed methyl ester, according to DIN E 51606)
• PME (vegetable methyl ester, purely vegetable products, according to DIN E 51606)
• FME (fat methyl ester, vegetable and animal products, according to DIN V 51606)

The standards ensure that the following important factors in the fuel production process are satisfied:

• Complete reaction.
• Removal of glycerin.
• Removal of catalyst.
• Removal of alcohol.

• Absence of free fatty acids.
• Low sulfur content.

Basic industrial tests to determine whether the products conform to the standards typically include gas chromatography, a test that verifies only the more important of the variables above. Tests that are more complete are more expensive. Fuel meeting the quality standards is very non-toxic, with a toxicity rating (LD₅₀) of greater than 50 mL/kg.

EN 14214

EN 14214 is an international standard that describes the minimum requirements for Biodiesel.

Biodiesel is a fuel, comparable to petrodiesel, that is produced, not from a fossil fuel, but from a renewable fuel such as rapeseed, soy, jatropha or other virgin biomass, UCO (used-cooking oil), MSW (municipal solid waste) or from any viable fuel stock. Pure biodiesel (known as B100 consists of fatty acid methyl esters, from the isomers of glycerides C14 up to C24.

Depending on the feedstock the distribution tends to be around C16 (Palmitic), Oleic (C18:1), Linoleic (C18:2) and others. The FAME content can be determined by Gas Chromatography using the European Norm 14103 methodology or similar ASTM method. Other methods for determining specifications are detailed in EN 14214 in each case with appropriate reference.

The European Standard was approved by CEN (European Committee for Standardization) on 14 February 2003^[1]. The date, when the standard came to effect, varies depending on the country (eg. Finland 8 March 2004).

It is broadly based on DIN 51606. The ASTM and EN both utilise very similar methods for the GC based analyses, in particular the methanol content EN method is deemed acceptable to use by the ASTM.

Blends are designated as "B" followed by a number. B99 is 99% pure biodiesel and 1% petrodiesel. B20 is 20% renewable biodiesel and 80% fossil fuel. The toxicity of the fuel goes up as the proportion of biodiesel goes down.

Specifications

See also

• ASTM D6751: the standard used in USA and Canada
• EN.
• EN 590
• List of EN standards.

References

1. ^ source: the EN 14214-standard

External links

• CEN homepage.