Biodiesel and Biodiesel Blend Properties Related to EPAct Use

Abstract

Biodiesel is defined as "a fuel composed of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oil or animal fats, designated B1 00" in the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D 6751 specification for Biodiesel Fuel (B100) Blend Stock for Distillate Fuels. In 1992, the U.S. Congress enacted the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) requiring federal and state vehicle fleets to purchase alternative fueled vehicles (AFV). EPAct was amended in 1998 as the Energy Conservation and Reauthorization Act (ECRA) to include biodiesel as an option for meeting AFV acquisition requirements by purchasing and using either 450 gallons of biodiesel or 2250 gallons of biodiesel blend consisting of 20% volume biodiesel in petroleum diesel fuel (designated B20). An effort initiated by U.S. Army TACOM/TARDEC/NAC to provide a specification for B20 biodiesel blended fuel for use by Government agencies resulted in publication of Commercial Item Description (CID) A-A-59693, Diesel Fuel, Biodiesel Blend (B20). This report summarizes data developed in a project designed to characterize selected biodiesel samples (identified in market survey, TARDEC Technical Report No. 13801) and biodiesel (B20) blends made with diesel fuels. The biodiesel feed stocks included unused soybean oil, used cooking oil, used soybean cooking oil, unused vegetable oil, used vegetable oil, unused canola oil, unused cottonseed oil, and yellow grease. Various chemical and physical properties were determined to ensure compliance with B20 and B100 specification requirements. The data was instrumental in deciding that the B20 specification should be restricted to one grade of biodiesel blend as the winter grade low sulfur diesel fuel No. 1-D (LS 1-D) has too restrictive of a distillation requirement. The B100 samples were also tested for oxidation stability in accordance with ASTM D 6186 at 125 deg C, using pressure differential scanning calorimetry (PDSC).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA572225

Entities

People

  • Emilio S. Alfaro
  • Jill M. Tebbe
  • Leo L. Stavinoha
  • Luis A. Villahermosa

Organizations

  • United States Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alternative Fuels
  • Biodiesels
  • Compression Ignition
  • Diesel Fuels
  • Energy Conservation
  • Fuel Efficiency
  • Inorganic Materials
  • Material Degradation Processes
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Processing
  • Materials Testing
  • Petroleum
  • Petroleum Diesels
  • Physical Properties
  • Plant Oils
  • Test Methods

Fields of Study

  • Agricultural and Food sciences

Readers

  • Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Engineering.
  • Environmental Engineering.
  • Polymer Science and Engineering.