Advanced BioFuels USA

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine)  …Biodiesel emerged on the U.S. alternative fuels radar in the early 1990s, and for the next decade it slowly gained recognition as a real-world, here-and-now replacement for diesel fuel before its first ASTM specification, D6751, was published in 2001-‘02. Since then, the tale of U.S. biodiesel is a series of highs and lows. Early public policy support primed the pump for years of major industrial expansion, but with fast growth came damaging reports of product quality issues in the field. Meanwhile, skyrocketing feedstock prices, the global financial crisis and intermittent, prolonged lapses in federal tax support, not to mention RIN fraud and other serious issues, stalled industry growth. Fortunately, the industry has proven resilient enough, under resolute organizational leadership, to bounce back and experience its greatest year yet. From a fuel quality perspective, kick-starting 2013 with positive results from National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s latest quality survey certainly didn’t hurt matters.
As NREL senior fuels chemist Teresa Alleman took the stage at the 2013 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Las Vegas to discuss preliminary results from the survey, which showed 97 percent of the 67 samples tested (53 producers and 14 terminals)—representing 94 percent of volume in the market—were on-spec, she acknowledged, “This is a huge improvement over previous years.” Months later, NREL issued a press release that stated 95 percent of the samples were on-spec. “The small discrepancy was an error on our part between the meeting and the final report,” she tells Biodiesel Magazine.
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In 2004, NREL’s first survey showed 85 percent on-spec fuel, when D6751 was far less stringent than today’s standard. In her final report, Alleman notes that since 2002, D6751 has undergone 17 updates to help prevent or reconcile issues found in the field, or to stay ahead of changing technology and customer demands. The next survey was in 2006, during the height of the industry expansion boom, and results were dire. Only 41 percent of biodiesel samples were on-spec, meaning more than half failed, mostly for total glycerin or flash point.
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For the most recent survey, the critical properties tested were free and total glycerin, flash point, cloud point, oxidation stability, cold soak filterability and metals.
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“While the biodiesel of 10 years ago was a good fuel and caused relatively few issues, the biodiesel being produced today is far superior and reported issues from the field are now on par—perhaps even less—than those reported for conventional petroleum-based diesel fuel,”  (Steve) Howell (National Biodiesel Board) tells Biodiesel Magazine.
Howell says the dramatic improvement in fuel quality is mainly attributed to three factors. “First and foremost, the industry has now largely embraced the BQ-9000 fuel quality program of the National Biodiesel Board,” he says.
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“The second factor has been the efforts of the NBB to encourage regulators to assist the industry by enforcing D6751,” Howell says.
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The third factor spurring quality improvements in U.S. biodiesel, according to Howell, is the overall growth of the market and sophistication of the blenders and marketers who are buying B100. “With the advent of more than 1 billion gallons of biodiesel sold in both 2011 and 2012 under RFS2, many major petroleum refiners are now buying biodiesel and selling biodiesel blends under their own brand name,” he says. “These large, risk-averse companies are now major buyers of B100. They are putting BQ-9000 as a requirement in their bid specs and monitoring their fuel quality on an ongoing basis to help insure their customers will have a positive experience with the biodiesel blends they sell.”
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(M)any customers have their own specs biodiesel must meet—specs that go beyond what’s required in ASTM.  READ MORE and MORE (case study, Community Fuels, Stockton, CA) and MORE and MORE (National Biodiesel Board/Biodiesel Magazine)