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White Papers Biofuels InfraSpec

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.

The Effect of Biodiesel Feedstocks on Infrared Blend Measurements
A common concern among biodiesel blenders and distributors is whether a biodiesel made from different feedstocks such as soy, waste vegetable oil or palm oil will affect the blend measurement.  The data, as well as the chemistry, shows that infrared measurements offer a reliable analytical technique for checking biodiesel blend.