White Papers Biofuels Analyzers

On-Site Ethanol in Gasoline Blend Analysis is an Investment that Saves Money and Eliminates Uncertainty in Fuel Blends
The use of ethanol as a gasoline additive has increased dramatically over the past few years and will likely continue to increase.  For fuel blenders, this means an added challenge to avoid an incorrect blend that could lead to regulatory fines, loss of customer confidence and damage to equipment.  A quick on-site analysis with a portable mid-infrared based analyzer, such as the Wilks InfraCal Ethanol Blend Analyzer can help fuel blenders quickly flag out-of-spec product and ensure the final blend meets specifications.

Lower Resolution Infrared (IR) Spectroscopy Can Provide Higher Performance for Quantitative Biodiesel Measurements
Resolution is often used as a yardstick of instrument performance in Infrared Spectroscopy.This is especially true when the measurements are energy limited as they are in the mid-infrared. For example, in both the European and ASTM standards - EN14078 and ASTM D7371 - for the determination of biodiesel in diesel fuel, a 4 cm-1 resolution is specified which is a relatively high resolution. Resolution is important to qualitatively examine specific components and attributes of a sample, but quantitative analysis does not always benefit from higher resolution. In fact, as has been pointed out in the past by Hart and Griffiths, a lower resolution instrument will actually perform better for quantitative measurements where absorbance peaks are well defined and not overlapping1.

Comparison of EN 14078 and ASTM D7371 Infrared Biodiesel Methods
Both EN 14078 and ASTM D7371 methods for measuring the percent biodiesel in diesel fuel use infrared as the analytical method and more specifically FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) spectrometers; however, both methods have disadvantages.  This White Paper discusses both methods and how a simplified infrared analysis method incorporates the most trouble-free portions of each method in a  less expensive, easier to operate and more rugged analyzer than an FTIR spectrometer.