At the National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Fort Worth, Texas, in January, the National Biodiesel Board announced the addition of a retailer certification under its BQ-9000 biodiesel fuel quality assurance program. The new BQ-9000 Retailer Program is the fourth segment of the growingly popular fuel quality assurance program, joining the previously established certifications for biodiesel producers, marketers and testing laboratories. 

BQ-9000 is a combination of the ASTM standard for biodiesel, ASTM D6751, and a rigorous quality systems program that includes storage, sampling, testing, blending, shipping, distribution, and fuel management practices. 

“The National Biodiesel Accreditation Commission is pleased to release this latest program in the efforts to promote quality assurance for the biodiesel industry,” said Scott Fenwick, the NBB’s technical director. “This retail program for stores selling biodiesel and biodiesel blends to end users fills the gap on our quality management system. Previously, the program has provided quality management for producers, marketers, blenders and independent laboratories. This will now help to ensure fuel quality through the entire supply chain, down to the final consumer.”

The BQ-9000 Retailer Program will enter a 30-day comment period for NBB members and current BQ-9000-certified companies to review and provide comments for the betterment of the program, and then the final program will be officially released in March for development within the industry.

Today there are 54 biodiesel producers, nearly 40 marketers and 13 laboratories certified under the BQ-9000 program, with more certifications in progress.  As of the end of 2014, 92 percent of the biodiesel produced in the U.S. by NBB member companies came from BQ-9000-certified producers.