Updated NREL Biodiesel Handling & Use Guide
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Advanced Fuel Solutions is excited to share a trusted industry resource for fleet managers, fuel distributors, facility operators, and others who handle, transport, or use biodiesel blends: the Biodiesel Handling and Use Guide – Sixth Edition from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
NREL developed this guide with support from Clean Fuels Alliance America and input from industry experts. It reflects the most current ASTM standards and regulatory considerations and provides up-to-date, science-based guidance on safely and effectively storing, blending, transporting, and using biodiesel across a wide range of applications.
>Visit our website’s Industry Resources page to download your copy of the Updated NREL Biodiesel Handling & Use Guide.
Why this guide matters.
As biodiesel use continues to expand across on-road, off-road, marine, rail, home heating, and power generation markets, ensuring proper fuel quality and handling is more important than ever. NREL’s latest edition serves as a technical reference for:
Terminal operators
Fuel blenders and distributors
Retail fuel station operators
Fleet managers
Original equipment manufacturers (OEM’s)
Engineers and maintenance professionals
Compliance and environmental managers
Key topics
The Sixth Edition includes updated information on:
Biodiesel Basics: What biodiesel is, how it’s produced through transesterification, and how it differs from renewable diesel. It outlines feedstocks such as soybean oil, used cooking oil, and animal fats, while explaining the chemistry behind fatty acid methyl esters (FAME).
ASTM Specifications & Standards: A detailed discussion on how understanding these standards is critical to ensuring compliance, engine protection, and consistent performance.
Storage & Handling Best Practices: Gain invaluable insights on how to minimize filter plugging, sediment formation, corrosion, and fuel degradation.
Cold weather performance expectations and management
Oxidation stability and fuel aging
Tank and equipment material compatibility
Microbial contamination prevention
Proper transport procedures
Performance & Environmental Benefits: The guide reinforces biodiesel’s value as a lower-carbon-intensity fuel that:
Reduces lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions
Lowers soot and particulate matter emissions
Is renewable, non-toxic, and biodegradable
Works in most diesel engines at blends up to B20 with little or no modification
If you have questions about the guide or want to learn more about our fuel additive strategies, cold-flow management, or fuel testing protocols, please contact our team. We’re here to help.
About Advanced Fuel Solutions
Advanced Fuel Solutions offers customized fuel additives that optimize the reliability and performance of diesel, gasoline, biodiesel, home heating oil, and marine fuels. For over 30 years, we’ve helped terminal operators, distributors, and other industry partners preserve and protect fuel integrity across the supply chain—reducing operating costs and risk, and extending equipment life with cleaner, more sustainable energy.
