Latest Diesel Quality Trends Revealed in Biennial Survey
(Infineum International Ltd./Biodiesel Magazine) Infineum has revealed the initial results from its latest biennial global Winter Diesel Fuel Quality Survey, offering a unique update on the current trends in the industry across the global marketplace.
The Infineum survey collected samples from service stations from across eight countries in order to represent the production from each refinery or region in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, New Zealand, Peru and South Africa. The latest findings cover the results of the Southern Hemisphere, with the full results set to be announced in October.
The data from this year’s samples offers further insight into some of the diesel industry’s most prominent topics, including the use of renewable fuels, the decrease in fuel sulfur levels, and the trends in oxidation and cloud point.
Monitoring the rise of FAME
This year’s report shows a continuing state of flux for the presence of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) in samples throughout the Southern Hemisphere, aligned with varying uses of biodiesel in each of the nations surveyed. FAME is well known as an effective method of improving lubricity, but the associated costs can be prohibitive in their application.
In Australasia, only New South Wales currently mandates the use of FAME for biodiesel, with the level currently set at 2 percent. This year’s Winter Diesel Fuel Quality Survey reported evidence of a sample which contained 4 percent—the same level recorded in Infineum’s 2012 survey.
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Meanwhile, levels of FAME in Latin America ranged from 0 percent in Chile to 11 percent in Argentina.
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Sulfur levels have continued to fall over the past two years, following a significant decline in levels between 2012 and 2014, with average figures in some countries falling from hundreds to just tens of ppm.
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This year’s survey records a significant worsening in oxidation stability in the samples from Argentina and Brazil, while a reasonable percentage of samples from Peru were also found to have a Rancimat of less than 20 hours.
The cause of this trend is unclear, although it could be attributed to poor FAME quality or a lack of antioxidant additive use. In certain circumstances poor oxidation stability can lead to higher levels of particulate matter in fuels, which has the potential to cause filterability issues and may result in fuel starvation and engine operating difficulties.
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For the first time, the 2016 Winter Diesel Fuel Quality Survey will include data on the quality of marine bunker fuels sampled in European Emission Control Areas. The results will be made available in October this year.
To read the full Infineum Winter Diesel Fuel Quality Survey Southern Hemisphere results, clickhere. READ MORE
