The cold soak filterability test (CSFT) was introduced as one of the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) D6751-09a specifications in 2009. This requirement is mandatory for all biodiesel sold and used as blending stock in the USA. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), through commercial experiences and know how of the characteristic of palm biodiesel, has developed a technology that can hel[ the existing biodiesel producers to meet the CSFT for palm biodiesel. In our early study, impurities that influence the CSFT of palm biodiesel have been identified (Lau and Choo, 2009). Lee et al. (2006) recently filed a patent applicaton for a process involving filtration using diatomaceous earth to remove precipitates from biodiesel. Another patent application field by Danzer et al. (2007) describes a process to remove steryl glycosides (SG) and other precipitates by cold treatment and filtration. However, these technologies may not be sufficient for treating palm biodiesel as there are other impurities present in palm biodiesel that need to be removed while SG is treated. The MPOB post treatment CSFT technology for palm biodiesel will adequately remove all these impurities apart from SG to achieve consistent product quality which will ultimately meet the CSFT requirement for the US market.

Main Research: Dr Harrison Lau Lik Nang