Technical standards of Biodiesel

International Standards The common international standard for biodiesel is EN 14214. This description is the international standard which describes the minimum requirements for biodiesel. Pure biodiesel known as B100 consists of fatty acid methyl esters, from the isomers of glycerides C14 up to C24. For each country there are additional national specifications. ASTM D6751 is the most common standard referenced in the United States and Canada. The date, when the standard came to effect, varies depending on the country. The European standard was approved by the European Committee for Standardization on 14 February 2003. 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:

Rapeseed Methyl Ester (RME according to DIN E 51606)
Vegetable Methyl Ester (PME according to DIN E 51606)
Fat Methyl Ester (FME according to DIN V 51606)

The standards ensure that the important factors like a complete reaction, removal of glycerin, absence of free fatty acids, removal of alcohol and removal of catalyst and low sulfur content in the fuel production process are satisfied:

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In the biodiesel industry there are several tests to determine whether the products conform to the standards as mentioned above. One of those tests that verifies only the more important of the variables above is GLC (gas-liquid chromatography). GLC is a separation technique in which the mobile phase is a gas.

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