Many U.S. soybean farmers may never see the benefits of Bioheat® fuel in their own homes, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t see the perks of a new ruling on performance specifications.
ASTM International, an organization that sets industry standards for fuels, recently released new performance specifications for blends of between 6 and 20 percent biodiesel with traditional heating oil. These blends, branded as Bioheat, continue to gain popularity in the northeastern part of the United States, where heating oil is a popular fuel source.
Until now, only heating-oil blends up to 5 percent biodiesel had a quality specification for the industry to work from, so the new specs are a big win for the biodiesel industry.
Gaining approval of them wasn’t an easy task, says biodiesel industry consultant Steve Howell.
“The data set behind these changes is among the most extensive I’ve seen in more than 20 years at ASTM,” says Howell, of MARC-IV Consulting, who serves as an ASTM Fellow and chairs the ASTM Biodiesel Task Force.
This new spec could dramatically increase the amount of biodiesel used in heating oil, a 5-billion-gallon market. Any opportunity that creates more demand for biodiesel also increases demand for U.S. soybean oil and U.S. soybean farmers’ bottom lines.
This is also good news for customers who want a renewable, nontoxic option for a more environmentally friendly heating oil. Customers and heating-oil companies agree that Bioheat fuel is a positive option for them and an easy transition.
“Brookhaven National Laboratory surveyed customers already using biodiesel blends, and the data not only showed similar or better experience than with traditional heating oil, they also showed many already use B20 or higher blends with great success,” Howell said.
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