The National Biodiesel Accreditation Commission recently announced the registration of six more companies to BQ-9000, a voluntary program for quality control of this alternative to petroleum-based diesel fuel.

Biodiesel producers Stepan Co. of Northfield, Illinois; Western Iowa Energy of Wall Lake, Iowa; and Seattle Biodiesel were registered to the standard. FUMPA Biofuels of Redwood Falls, Minnesota; Western States Petroleum of Phoenix, Arizona; and TransMontaigne of Denver were registered as biodiesel marketers.

BQ-9000 assists biodiesel marketers and producers in achieving ASTM D-6751 compliance with quality systems for blending, sampling, testing, shipping, storage, fuel management and distribution.

“Achieving the ASTM standard on every batch is critical to protect consumers and maintain the reputation of biodiesel as a high-quality, high-performance fuel,” says Ed Hegland, National Biodiesel Board Technical Committee chairman.

For registration, companies have to pass a review by an independent auditor of their quality control processes and must produce a quality control manual.

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