Category Archives: pumps

13Dec/22

UL Liquid Fuel Burner Safety Standard Amended to Include Biodiesel Blends Up To B100

Biofuels, Carbon Reduction, Equipment, NORA, pumps, Research, technology

On November 14, 2022 an update to the standard UL296 was published by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) which expands its scope to include liquid-fuel-fired burners intended for use with biodiesel blends of 20% to 100% (B20-B100) with heating oil. UL296 is the standard developed by Underwriters Laboratories for safety testing of liquid-fuel-fired burners.

Prior to this update, the UL standard included procedures for evaluation of burners for use with biodiesel blends up to B20. The updated standard includes the procedure and requirements for burners up to B20, including endurance of elastomers and seals in extended exposure to the fuels. Additionally, the updated standard has added a unique new test in which a burner is set-up for use with B100 as per manufacturer specifications. The fuel is then switched to heating oil without biodiesel included (B0), and no burner settings are modified. The burner still needs to operate cleanly and safely after this fuel change.

This new standard has been eagerly awaited by the liquid fuel heating industry as it allows for the development and market introduction of heating appliances rated to run on 100% low-carbon biodiesel, drastically reducing the carbon emissions of home heating systems.

A number of industry entities have been working towards this update of UL296, including NORA, Clean Fuels Alliance, Carlin Combustion Technologies and R.W. Beckett Corporation.

Michael Devine, NORA’s president said, “This standard update is most welcome as it accelerates the liquid fuel industry’s conversion to low-carbon home heating. The ever-increasing blends of biodiesel in our fuel eliminates more and more carbon, making liquid fuel heating an essential component in addressing climate change. Amending UL 296 allows liquid fuel appliance manufactures to provide equipment that aligns with the public policy requirements for carbon reduction. NORA has been able to demonstrate that a home heated with 100% biodiesel using solar panels to produce its electricity can become a Net-Zero home quickly and at an economically viable cost.”

30Jun/20

Impact on service by biodiesel blends in heating oil

Biofuels, Education, nitrile, NORA, pumps, Research, technology

The National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) has conducted periodic surveys to assess the impact and role that biofuels play in the marketplace. Many view low-carbon fuels as the best path for the industry as it reduces its environmental impact. Biodiesel is a low-carbon fuel that is available in most markets, is used widely and offers significant reduction of the amount of carbon dioxide released by heating appliances.

NORA has conducted ongoing research in this area and has found that the transition to higher blends of biodiesel can occur with low costs and little impact on the consumer. A number of retailers have been selling the higher blends of biodiesel.

To verify/validate the lab conclusions on biodiesel, NORA conducted a wide-ranging survey of retailers and service personnel. This latest survey, completed in December 2019 is summarized here.

See the survey report here

16Mar/20

Technical Note: Nitrile Rubber and B20 Biodiesel Blends

Biofuels, Equipment, nitrile, NORA, pumps, Research, technology

A significant amount of new testing data on nitrile performance in U.S. heating oil equipment with biodiesel meeting today’s stringent ASTM standards is now available. This recent testing shows common nitrile elastomers in typical heating oil burner pumps in the U.S. perform the same or better using B20 than those using conventional No. 2 heating oil. The validity of this testing is supported by elastomer manufacturers marketing B-100 nitrile which could, if appropriate, be used by burner manufacturers. See Technical note here.