ASTM Committee Sanctions New Voluntary No.1-B Grade for Biodiesel
(National Biodiesel Board/Biodiesel Magazine) …A new voluntary No. 1-B grade for biodiesel (B100) passed the ASTM D2 Committee on Petroleum Products and Lubricants this past spring and the results were sanctioned by the ASTM Committee on Standards in a meeting held late last week.
…ASTM D6751, the ASTM standard for B100 prior to blending, was modified to create a new voluntary No. 1-B grade. The new grade provides more stringent controls for minor components in raw materials used to make biodiesel, such as vegetable oils and animal fats. The specification values of the current standard will become the No. 2-B grade in D6751 without change. Producers or blenders can continue to utilize the current specification under the No. 2-B grade at any time of the year exactly as done today, or they may opt to use the more stringent No 1-B grade. The finished blended fuel standards—D975 for on- and off-road diesel up to 5 percent biodiesel (B5), D7467 for B6 to B20 on- and off-road applications, and D396 for heating oil up to 5 percent biodiesel—do not change. B100 used for D975, D7467, and D396 must continue to meet D6751 (either the No. 1-B or the No. 2-B grade) prior to blending.
The choice of the No. 1-B and No. 2-B designations were selected to make the standard as similar as possible as the current mode of operation with No. 1 and No. 2 diesel fuel.
…The interest in creating No.1-B specification was triggered by a handful of cases with the new ULSD fuel experiencing unexpected filter clogging above the cloud point of the finished blend, which mostly occurred with low aromatic No. 1-type diesel blends. READ MORE
