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Keywords: Alternative fuel, Diesel, Engines, Fuel testing

1 Purpose and scope

1.1 This Engineering Practice establishes a minimum set of fuel properties that shall be included with the report of diesel engine performance on any alternative fuels derived from plant oils and animal fats, including blends of these alternative fuels with diesel fuel. Various alternative fuels from many plant and animal sources have been proposed as possible diesel engine fuels. These alternative fuels are collected and processed using a variety of methods, which can influence their physical and chemical properties. In addition, they are tested in diesel engines using a range of procedures. To facilitate comparison of test data, it is essential that some reference point or baseline be established. This Engineering Practice is designed to provide a consistent set of data for these alternative fuels when used as diesel fuel replacements, and it will help to identify deviations from normal expected fuel characteristics that have been established for petroleum derived fuels.

1.2 This Engineering Practice specifies which fuel properties shall be reported and lists the procedure that shall be used to measure these properties. It does not establish a requirement for any fuel property. The minimum documentation of every engine test should include at least those items that are listed in clause 4. The total data set should be reported whenever possible, although it is recognized that some data are difficult to obtain on every batch of fuel. It should be clearly indicated whether the data are typical for the particular class of fuel or whether the batch of fuel was specifically tested for the data being reported.

1.3 This Engineering Practice does not specify an engine test procedure; however, it is expected that a complete description of the test procedure will be provided with the test report.