The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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will review those submissions and enter into contracts for the best proposals. "If there's a high-priority area that nobody responded to then we would probably actively solicit appropriate vendors to prepare proposals for us," Huber added. At the Brookhaven planning meet- ing attendees were assigned to discussion groups, each corresponding to one of the six proposed research categories. Afterward the leader of each group summarized its discussions and presented multiple possible research efforts. Here are highlights. Biofuels Technical and climate change informa- tion should be developed and conveyed to state energy offices and other stakehold- ers, the biofuels group said. Technical work should be done for an ASTM spec for blends higher than B20, the group suggested, as well as research into cloud points and cold flow. Steve Howell, chairman of the ASTM Biodiesel Task Force, noted that cold flow differs by geography—a reason that ASTM doesn't set cold flow parameters. The biofuels group proposed goals of B50 use by 2030, and B100 use by 2050. Bob Hedden, education director of NORA and executive director of the Oilheat Manufacturers Association, sug- gested a more ambitious target: B100 by 2040. Hedden also suggested that NORA form ties with renewable fuel associations in the states. field demonstrations/ documentation Developing tools for tracking fuel use and fuel savings, and developing technol- ogy for a virtual "smart meter," to enable more efficient deliveries, would be worthy research projects, Roger Marran, president of Energy Kinetics, Lebanon, N.J., said on behalf of the discussion group. Fuel savings analysis could be made more useful through integration with field performance, and making it usable on mul- tiple platforms, including Windows, Mac and apps for smart phones, Marran noted. Providing education for building analysts in the Building Performance Institute, Malta, N.Y., would support the fuel oil industry too, according to Marran. He added that an www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | JULY 2014 33 BUSINESS OPERATIONS By Stephen Bennett B20 Defeated in ASTM Balloting A B20 heating oil standard was defeated in initial balloting by members of ASTM International, but Steve Howell, chairman of the ASTM Biodiesel Task Force, said, "I'm confident we will pass an official B20 ASTM heating oil standard quickly." More than 200 people voted on the ASTM diesel fuel subcommittee standard—where one negative vote can defeat a ballot, Howell said in mid June. The ballot received "some" negative votes which, as of this writing, were expected to be addressed at the ASTM semi-annual meeting the week of June 23, Howell said. ASTM follows a two-step balloting process. The first is at the subcommittee level; the second at the main committee level. "It's extremely rare that an ASTM standard passes on the first try," Howell said. He noted that B20 has a history of 10 years of successful in-field use and has undergone six years of detailed lab work by independent, third-party technical experts. "The technical data package that formed the basis for the B20 heating oil standard was quite impressive," Howell said. Ph.D. scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N.y., Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa., and the State University of New york in Stony Brook. N.y., completed work on "everything from combustion to elastomer compatibility to a 7,000-hour pump durability test" with pumps manufactured by Suntec Industries, Glasgow, Ky., and burners manufactured by R.W. Beckett Corp., North Ridgeville, Ohio. The results showed that B20 and lower blends meeting the proposed specs "will perform as well—if not better—than conventional heating oil," Howell said. Members of ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, are technical experts and business professionals representing 150 countries. They develop international voluntary consensus standards, which are used around the world to improve product quality, enhance safety, facilitate market access and trade, and build consumer confidence, according to the Society's website.