• ASTM—American Society of Testing and  Materials.  An organization to establish test  standards for materials, products, systems and services for a wide range of  industries.

  • Biodiesel—The mono alkyl esters of long chain fatty  acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, for use in  compression-ignition (diesel) engines.   Biodiesel has similar combustion properties to diesel fuel but reduced  toxicity, emissions and health risks.

  • Biodiesel Blend—A blend of biodiesel fuel  meeting D6751 with petroleum-based diesel fuel, designated BXX, where XX  represents the volume percentage of biodiesel fuel in the blend (example:  B2=2% biodiesel & 98% petroleum diesel).

  • Biorefinery—A facility in which a form of  biomass (such as soybeans) is converted into multiple value-added products  (such as biodiesel, heat, animal feed, protein powder and  electricity).

  • BQ-9000—The National Biodiesel Accreditation  Program.  A cooperative and  voluntary program for the accreditation of producers and marketers of  biodiesel fuel.  The program is a  unique combination of D6751 and a quality systems program that includes  storage, sampling, testing, blending, shipping, distribution and fuel  management practices.

  • CFPP—Cold Filter Plugging Point.   Highest temperature at which a given volume of fuel fails to pass  through a standardized filtration device in a specified time, when cooled  under standardized conditions.

  • Cloud Point—As temperature drops, heavier  fuels such as diesel and biodiesel begin to crystallize.  The crystals appear to “cloud” the  fuel.  Clouded fuel can clog fuel  filters and temporarily disable vehicle operation.

  • CN—Cetane number.  A measure of a diesel fuel’s  combustion quality.  Cetane is to  diesel fuel what “octane” is to gasoline.  All diesel fuels are indexed against  cetane, a compound that ignites very easily under compression and is therefore  given a cetane number of 100.  A  fuel with a high cetane number will ignite easily under pressure inside a  diesel engine, while a fuel with a low cetane number will not ignite as easily  and is considered of poorer quality.   Diesel fuel number 2 typically has a cetane number of between 40-46,  whereas biodiesel’s cetane number is generally from 47-60.  D6751 sets a minimum cetane number of  47 for biodiesel.

  • Continuous flow (biodiesel) plants—Facilities  that produce biodiesel fuel continuously, as opposed to “batch process”  plants.

  • D6751—Specification D6751; ASTM’s  designation for biodiesel.  This specification is for pure (100%)  biodiesel prior to use or blending with diesel fuel.

  • Diesel fuel—A fuel derived from the distillation  of oil that is heavier than gasoline but lighter than engine oil and heavy  oils.  Diesel fuel is generally  separated into two fuels: diesel number 1 and diesel number 2.  Diesel number 1 is similar to kerosene  and is lighter than diesel number 2.   While diesel number 2 is sold most of the time, diesel number 1 is sold  during winter in very cold climates because it doesn’t cloud or gel as easily  as diesel number 2.

  • Energy balance—The ratio of how much  energy a given energy carrier takes to produce versus how much energy the  carrier contains.  An energy  balance ratio of less than one indicates an energy carrier that takes more  energy to produce than it contains (such as diesel number 1 and diesel number  2).  An energy balance ratio of  greater than one indicates the carrier took less energy to produce than it  contains (such as biodiesel).

  • Flash point—The temperature at which a fuel  ignites.

  • Gel point—The temperature at which the fuel is  past its “cloud point” and beginning to gel, thereby making operation of fuel  systems impossible.

  • Glycerin—Also called glycerol.  A heavy, sweet alcohol that is part of  the vegetable oil triglyceride and must be “broken off” during transesterification.  Glycerin is  the by-product of the biodiesel process. Glycerin is hydroscopic (water soluble) and used in over one thousand industrial cosmetic and food applications.

  • Lubricity—The lubricating quality of a  fuel.  In a diesel engine high  lubricity fuels are critical to maintaining proper engine functionality.  Without any lubricity in its fuel, the  diesel engine will fail.

  • NBAC—National Biodiesel Accreditation  Commission.  Administrators of the  BQ-9000 program—design and implementation along with on-going improvements to  BQ-9000.

  • NBB—National Biodiesel Board.  The national trade association representing the  biodiesel industry as the coordinating body for research and development in  the United States.

  • NREL—National Renewable Energy  Laboratory.  Located in Golden, Colorado, as part of the  U.S. Department of Energy.  The  primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and  development in the United States.

  • OEM—Original Equipment Manufacturer.  Provide the original product design and  materials for its assembly and manufacture. OEMs are directly responsible for  manufacturing and modifying the products, making them commercially available,  and providing the warranty.
  • QSSB—Qualified State Soybean Board

  • Transesterificaton—The process of transforming  triglycerides into a combination of monoalkyl esters and long chain fatty  acids, or in other words, transforming vegetable oil into  biodiesel.