ASTM NEWS FUEL FOR THE FUTURE
THE USE OF BIOBASED FUELS IS EXPANDING ACROSS MULTIPLE INDUSTRIES. STANDARDS ARE HELPING PROVIDE DIRECTION.
BY: JACK MAXWELL
Trucks and some cars need it to get from point A to point B. Railcars and ships can’t move without it. And in many places, it helps keep the lights on. We’re talking, of course, about petroleum-derived fuels. And though diesel fuel may be one of the most common types, unless you’re involved in the industry, you may not be aware of ongoing efforts to improve the environmental profile of a product that is especially vital to land, sea, and air transportation. Biobased diesel is the broad term for fuels derived from biological feedstocks such as vegetable oils and animal fats. Underneath the biobased umbrella you’ll find two variations that sound similar but are distinguished by their unique chemical structures: renewable diesel and biodiesel. ASTM International test methods, specifications, and other standards have been an important part of the diesel fuel ecosystem for decades. The standards continue to both reflect and support the evolution of greener alternatives. Here we look at new developments in vehicle and aircraft fuels, and how standards are evolving to meet the needs of an industry on the move. But first, a chemistry lesson. Similar but Different
Renewable diesel sounds like a generic catch-all phrase that could cover a range of different, greener diesel fuel options, including biodiesel. However, it is actually a type of biobased diesel with a very specific chemical signature. “’Renewable diesel’ is not an official definition at ASTM yet, but there’s a common understanding in the industry,” says David Slade, Ph.D., chief technologist at Renewable Energy Group and a long-time member of several subcommittees in the committee on petroleum products, liquid fuels, and lubricants (D02). “Renewable diesel is a hydrocarbon fuel, biodiesel is an ester fuel.”
This distinction means that, while both types of fuel are derived from biological feedstocks, their ultimate chemical composition is very different. Biodiesel is always an oxygenated fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), whereas renewable diesel is a hydrocarbon (as is petroleum diesel, interestingly).
Producing renewable diesel requires deoxygenation of the lipids (fats and oils) used as feedstocks. “You’re removing the oxygen atoms and leaving behind just the carbon and hydrogen. That’s why we say it’s a hydrocarbon,” Slade says. “One thing to keep in mind, though, is that there are multiple ‘classes’ of hydrocarbon molecules in diesel fuel, and the renewable diesel produced today only includes one of those: paraffins.” Biodiesel and renewable diesel differ in the ways they mitigate environmental impacts. “From a production standpoint, biodiesel production has a little less carbon intensity than renewable diesel production,” Slade explains. “From an engine emissions standpoint, biodiesel is very good for reducing particulate matter and hydrocarbon emissions, and renewable diesel is very good for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions.” While both categories of biobased diesel compare favorably to petroleum diesel in terms of carbon intensity and emissions performance, renewable diesel, because it’s a hydrocarbon product, can be derived from a wider variety of alternate inputs. However, these biological feedstocks — including starch, sugar, cellulosic biomass (organic matter like agricultural crops, wood and wood waste, and grasses), and lignocellulosic biomass (plant-based material not used for food, such as wood, wood waste, and forestry residues), among others — are not yet available on a commercial scale. “So both biodiesel and renewable diesel are currently made from the same set of feedstocks, which are fats and oils,” Slade says.
Market Share
The National Biodiesel Board estimates that the United States consumed about 3 billion gallons (11.3 billion liters) of biobased diesel fuel in 2020, and it believes that amount could double over the next eight years. This total includes both biodiesel and renewable diesel. Looking more closely at renewable diesel, in July 2021, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) pegged U.S. production capacity at just over half a billion gallons per year (1.9 billion liters), or about 38,000 barrels per day. The EIA also noted that if all the proposed renewable diesel projects come to fruition and are added to those under construction, the total could increase nearly tenfold to 330,000 barrels per day, or about 5.1 billion gallons (19.3 billion liters) per year, by the end of 2024. This would represent approximately 8% of total U.S. diesel production capacity. On the international level, consulting firm FutureBridge pegs current global renewable diesel production at about 1.4 billion gallons (5.5 billion liters) and forecasts strong growth, up to 3.4 billion gallons (13 billion liters), by 2024.
“Renewable diesel is a new product,” Slade points out. “It hasn’t been on the market in large volumes until maybe the last five years, whereas biodiesel has been out there for about 15 years in large volumes.”
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