The US Department of Energy (DOE) has released its annual survey of commercially produced biodiesel quality. The score card shows improvement over last year, but things still aren’t great.

Biodiesel producers cranked out over 360 million gallons of fuel last year, and the DOE study indicates they got a representative sample of about 70% of its producers. Based on technical criteria deemed critical for engine operation: oxidation stability, flash point and alcohol content, cloud point, water and sediment, acid value, and free and total glycerin. The government also tested for air pollution quality control measures.

The bottom line of the study indicated that 10% of the biodiesel produced missed quality standards in one way or another. Larger producers of the alternative fuel rarely missed the target goals, while small outfits had plenty of boo-boos. Sadly, it’s hard to tell what kind of company produced biodiesel simply by looking at the pump.

To download or view a copy of the study, click here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 12:56 pm and is filed under biofuel, general. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.