Bionic Fuels are small / medium size commercial biodiesel producer based in East Sussex, UK. The company has been involved in testing and assisting in the development of a biodiesel specific field test kit designed to give key data throughout the production cycle.
Biodiesel production, despite being a fairly simple chemical reaction, encompasses many variables that can affect finished product quality. There is a recognised European standard (EN14214), however, the full suite of tests can be costly and the regularity with which these tests may be required can prove cost negative for the smaller producer. That said, sub standard fuel producers have in the past caused the fledgling industry to attract a bad name in some areas.
Most commercial producers now realise that in order to compete in the important fleet sector,quality is not only a key buying motivator but a prerequisite to opening discussions. The problem then, is to identify and manage the variables in batches between regular laboratory tests.