Brazil’s National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) announced on 6 August that it has approved the sale and use of B15 biodiesel and is raising the minimum blend of the fuel from 10% to 11%, from September.
The announcement came after Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) published its final report on B15 on 2 August, greenlighting ANP’s approval, Biodiesel Magazine wrote.
The MME’s B15 report was part of Brazil’s National Biofuels Policy, RenovaBio (signed in January 2018 under the country’s commitment to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement) and was first published in May after three years of collaboration between public and private entities.
With the the support of the Brazilian Association of Automotive Engineering, the National Institute of Technology and various other companies performed fuel, engine and vehicle tests and presented their respective reports, Biodiesel Magazine wrote.
The May report included concerns over the deployment of B15, with the main point of contention being the definition of the oxidation stability parameter of the blend. A determination on the mandatory additive of an antioxidant, with a new oxidation stability, was established on 1 August.
The new requirement is 12 hours in the accelerated test versus the previous eight hour minimum, according to Biodiesel Magazine.
The MME said its findings were an important step towards the development of biodiesel and automotive technologies in Brazil and worldwide.
