AGQM to leverage positive results of B10 fleet trial for OEM approval

The German biodiesel quality management association AGQM announced recently that a trial of fleet vehicles running on 10 percent biodiesel (B10) successfully completed by AGQM and its partners shows that the use of B10 in the existing fleet is practicable.

Biodiesel blends in Europe are mostly limited to 7 percent.

The trial results, according to AGQM, demonstrate that drivers can make an active contribution to climate protection by refueling with B10.

AGQM initiated the B10 project together with Coburg University of Applied Sciences and was supported by Volkswagen AG, the Renafan Group and the Association of the German Biofuel Industry.

“In view of the expected decline in diesel-vehicle sales by 2035, reducing the CO2 footprint of the existing fleet remains crucial to achieving the European climate targets,” said AGQM Manager Katharina Friedrich. “As pure regenerative fuels are still rarely used in the passenger-car sector, we are focusing on higher blends such as B10.

Some original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have not approved B10.

“But our project shows that B10 is technically feasible and practical,” Friedrich said.  

The B10 project included tests of the fuel blends B7, B10 and B30 as well as the fuels R33—7 percent biodiesel and 26 percent hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), also known as renewable diesel—and R51 (10 percent biodiesel and 41 percent HVO) developed at Coburg University of Applied Sciences, which were analyzed regarding fuel aging and fuel/engine-oil aging.

The tests on the vehicle dynamometer and during real-world driving included various driving profiles (short and long distance) with a focus on engine-oil dilution.

All tested fuel mixtures achieved induction times of over 40 hours during thermo-oxidative fuel aging and thus clearly exceeded the requirements of the fuel standards, AGQM noted.

The chemical analyses of fuel/engine-oil aging showed that all samples achieved the induction times for engine-oil aging.

In the tests on engine-oil dilution both on the vehicle dynamometer and in real operation, the fuels B7 and B10 showed similar dilution levels.

In addition, all tested fuels met the Euro 6d limits in the mandatory-measurement procedure of the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) and “remained inconspicuous in terms of CH2O, NH3 and N2O emissions,” AGQM stated.

“We want to use our project results to actively enter into dialogue with car manufacturers,” Friedrich said. “Our goal is to convince those manufacturers who have not yet issued B10 approvals to approve them for existing and future vehicle models.”

The short report with detailed results of the project is now available for download here on the AGQM homepage.

AGQM is an organization founded by leading companies of the German biodiesel industry.

As a technical association, AGQM predominantly deals with all issues concerning the quality management of biodiesel and its byproducts.