The EN14214 standard for biodiesel was set by the Germans using virgin rapeseed oil as a feedstock. Used cooking oil generally has about 5 different oils each of which have their own individual physical properties and in terms of what is important for the EN standard the oils crucially differ from rapeseed on the iodine values of the respective oils. IE UCO has several different iodine values and the aggregate value of which depends upon what we have collected. Therefore the iodine value of our fuel will depend upon what we have got as our feedstock. So if its not the same as virgin rapeseed oil then we have failed the test however good we are on the rest. And we know many producers who use our method who have passed on everything but the iodine level.
OK I can hear you saying but what has this got to do with the fuel I put in my car. Well at the end of the process the iodine value forms part of the EN test because it is important if you are going to store the fuel for a long time – generally speaking beyond 4-5months. We do not store for this long and neither do any of our customers therefore this is why we believe the EN14214 standard is not really applicable for people who make biodiesel using used cooking oil (UCO) and that an additional standard should be introduced because biodiesel made from UCO is environmentally such a crucial product.
What would it mean for us to become compliant.
As you may have noticed from the media arguments there is a vast ethical and environmental difference from using virgin oils for making biodiesel and used vegetable cooking oils the way we do at Pure Fuels. What we are doing is taking a waste and turning it into a useful product which has won over customers because of quality and because its cheaper. Biodiesel from oils specially farmed for the process although being sustainable offers significantly lower carbon savings and has an environmental and economic impact which we are only beginning to research and understand. What we say is that we are making a good fuel from waste and for as long as we can we will.
What it would mean to change? – expense, expense but for what – hot air!
We would only be able to achieve EN14214 by blending in more expensive virgin rapeseed oil into our UCO to attain the correct iodine value in our feedstock. And then we would have to take the EN test which at £1,500 per test is also a very expensive exercise. It would inevitably need to be reflected in the price per litre. The process we and other similar producers around the country have set up have shown that there is no need to complicate matters to achieve a geat fuel and customer satisfaction and loyalty. Just good old plain common sense and simple testing procedures. We are at great believers in solid quality but also keeping it simple
We trust you will also like our pure fuel.