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NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jennifer Weaver / ASG Renaissance
734-904-3822
Jenna Higgins/NBB
800-841-5849

June 17, 2008

ASTM Fuels Subcommittee Votes to Approve Biodiesel Blend Specifications
ASTM Task Force Chair Optimistic Final Main Committee Vote Will be Positive

Vancouver, B.C.– In a landmark vote, the fuel experts of ASTM Subcommittee E voted overwhelmingly Mondy to recommend the passage of finished specifications for biodiesel blends. Specifically, they will recommend the following to the ASTM D02 Main Committee at its final vote later this week:

Finished specifications to include up to 5% biodiesel (B5) in the conventional petrodiesel specification (ASTM D975)
Changes to the existing B100 biodiesel blend stock specification (ASTM D6751)
A new specification for blends of between 6 percent biodiesel (B6) to 20 percent biodiesel (B20) for on and off road diesel.

In particular, automakers and engine manufacturers have highly anticipated the B6-to-B20 specification for more than five years. All three proposals were balloted to the D02 Main Committee for consideration at the semi-annual ASTM International (formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials) meeting being held in Vancouver this week. The Main Committee members will render their final votes this Thursday evening, June 19th.

It is extremely rare for an ASTM subcommittee vote to be overturned at the main committee level, and the overwhelming vote count for passage is a promising sign that the Thursday main committee D02 vote will be positive.

"While it's not over until the last vote is cast at the main committee Thursday, passage of these ballots is a sort of 'rite of passage' that the auto and petroleum industries have said they need in order to more fully support and endorse B20 and lower blends," said Steve Howell, Chairman of the ASTM Biodiesel Task Force. "It is quite remarkable that the big oil companies and engine makers on the committee have now joined forces with the biodiesel industry to help approve these standards."

The votes represent the culmination of more than five years of extensive research and subsequent balloting by the ASTM fuel experts in the blended fuel balloting process.

"We addressed the issues and concerns with solid, scientific research," said Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board. "Without the tremendous amount of scientific data provided by independent organizations like Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Coordinating Research Council (CRC) and others, and the cooperation of the petroleum and engine communities, this would not have been possible."

Howell was presented with an award of appreciation from ASTM yesterday for his dedication to leading the the effort.

Biodiesel is a domestically produced, renewable alternative to diesel fuel and can be made from vegetable oils, animal fats, recycled cooking oils or new sources such as algae. Biodiesel must be properly processed to meet the approved ASTM specifications regardless of the feedstock used to produce it. Biodiesel blends using B100 meeting ASTM specifications can be used in any diesel engine without modifications, and nearly all major automakers and engine manufacturers in the U.S. currently accept the use of at least B5, with some such as Cummins, New Holland and Caterpillar already accepting blends of B20 or higher. Several more companies are expected to raise their approvals to B20 pending the expected passage of the final ASTM specifications for B6-B20 blends this week.

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For more information about biodiesel, including manufacturers' warranty positions for its use, visit biodiesel.org. This material sponsored by the USDA Biodiesel Education Program.