The 893 Professional Biodiesel Rancimat determines the oxidation stability of biodiesel (fatty acid methyl esters, or FAME for short) and biodiesel blends.

In the Biodiesel Rancimat, increased temperature and a continuous stream of air through the sample accelerate its aging. The time that passes until oxidation takes place at a high rate – the induction time or oxidation stability index (OSI) – is measured.

The method is compliant with national and international standards, and it is particularly easy to perform, not least thanks to the modern, user-friendly StabNet software.

Fatty acid methyl esters are slowly oxidized by atmospheric oxygen. The resulting oxidation products can cause damage to combustion engines.

The oxidation stability is therefore an important quality criterion for FAME. With the Biodiesel Rancimat, you can measure the oxidation stabilities of FAME and their mixtures with diesel fuel. It can also be used to examine the effectiveness of added antioxidants.

Various standards describe oxidation stability testing with the Biodiesel Rancimat, including those listed below.

• EN 14112 “Fat and oil derivatives – Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) – Determination of oxidation stability (accelerated oxidation test)”
• EN 15751 “Automotive fuels – Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) fuel and blends with diesel fuel – Determination of oxidation stability by accelerated oxidation method”
• EN 16568: “Automotive fuels – Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) fuel und blends with diesel fuel – Determination of oxidation stability by rapidly accelerated oxidation method at 120 °C“

StabNet is the control hub for the Biodiesel Rancimat: all instrument functions are controlled via PC with the software.

However, it also evaluates your results, archives all determinations in its own database, and much, much more.

The Biodiesel Rancimat has eight measuring positions, four in each one of its two independent heating blocks.

Because they are independent, different temperatures can be applied on the heating blocks, all at the same time. Each single measurement can be started individually – directly on the instrument – once the sample has been put in position.

If you’re dealing with larger sample loads, you can connect up to four Biodiesel Rancimats to a single PC.

This allows you to analyze up to 32 samples at a time, using a single computer.

The Biodiesel Rancimat uses favorably-priced disposable reaction vessels.

This means that there is no need for time-consuming cleaning after each measurement. In addition to saving time and costs, the reproducibility of results is improved because the single-use vessels prevent carryover-effects.

Oxidation stability measurement of FAME using the Biodiesel Rancimat is a reliable and established method.

It is based on accelerating the aging process of the sample by raising its temperature and passing a continuous stream of air through it. The air flow transports volatile oxidation products from the sample vessel into a vessel containing distilled water. The conductivity of this water is continuously measured. Conductivity increases in this vessel once oxidation products emerge. A sudden, strong increase in conductivity – revealed by an inflection in the curve – marks the induction time that is a measure of oxidation stability.