Blue Sun Biodiesel earns BQ-9000 Producer status

Blue Sun Biodiesel has received BQ-9000 Producer status from the National Biodiesel Accreditation Commission and National Biodiesel Board. There are fewer than 50 companies that have achieved this milestone recognition.

“We have always been focused on producing the very highest quality fuel,” said Leigh Freeman, CEO of Blue Sun. “This recognition of Blue Sun as a BQ-9000 Producer validates the focus and attention to quality fuel that our team gives every day.”  

The NBAC’s National Biodiesel Accreditation Program, BQ-9000, is a cooperative and voluntary program for the accreditation of producers and marketers of biodiesel fuel. The program is a unique combination of the ASTM standard for biodiesel, ASTM D6751, and a quality systems program that includes storage, sampling, testing, blending, shipping, distribution, and fuel management practices.

The Blue Sun process includes a biodiesel distillation step, which further elevates the quality of the fuel. Blue Sun fuel exceeds ASTM D6751, particularly in low contaminants including very low monoglycerides (below 0.1 percent) and excellent cold soak performance.

“Blue Sun consistently demonstrated for BQ-9000 accreditation high quality in all samples received and tested by Gorge Analytical,” said Jeff Fetkenhour, President of Gorge Analytical LLC.

The Blue Sun St. Joe Refinery is a 30 MMgy facility centrally located in Saint Joseph, Mo.

“From the first day of production, the St. Joe plant has followed the principles of the BQ-9000 program,” said Sean Lafferty, Blue Sun’s vice president technology and new business. “Quality is important because quality leads to outstanding fuel performance, which leads to a comfort level for our customers with Blue Sun biodiesel.”  

BQ-9000 status represents yet another achievement for Blue Sun, the company that established the first high-quality biodiesel specification and in 2004 introduced the most advanced biodiesel under the trademarked brand Fusion.

The refinery completed its first-of-a-kind enzymatic transesterification process in late 2013.