The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has released its Assessment of BQ-9000 Biodiesel Properties for 2024, the eighth annual review of fuel quality from U.S. and Canadian producers enrolled in the voluntary BQ-9000® accreditation program, reports Energy.agwired.com.
Developed with Clean Fuels Alliance America and authored by NREL researcher Robert L. McCormick, the report analyzes monthly data from accredited producers across 2024. It examines key quality measures under the ASTM D6751 and Canadian CAN/CGSB-3.524 standards, including viscosity, distillation temperature, cetane number, carbon residue, sulfated ash, and levels of metals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.
The results show that biodiesel produced under BQ-9000 consistently meets — and often surpasses — the performance limits set by ASTM International’s D6751 specification, the global standard for biodiesel quality.
“ASTM standards are meant to set the minimum requirements to ensure fuel works the way drivers and fleets expect,” said Scott Fenwick, Technical Director for Clean Fuels. “What this report confirms is that biodiesel from BQ-9000 accredited producers not only meets those standards but goes beyond them.”
According to Clean Fuels, this high level of reliability is driving stronger demand from sectors with heavy fuel needs, including trucking fleets, railways, marine shipping, and home heating.
