Detection of Trace Amounts of Biodiesel in Diesel Fuel using Transmission and Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) Sampling

This application note by PerkinElmer, Inc. demonstrates that very low levels of biodiesel can readily be detected in diesel samples using FT-IR. The method achieves a sensitive detection limit of around 0.003% m/m using the PerkinElmer® Spectrum™ 100 FT-IR and a standard transmission cell. It is also demonstrated that the Diamond ATR can provide a convenient and easy detection method still with detection limit of better than 0.1%.The standard test methods for quantifying biodiesel in fuel by infrared (IR) spectrometry are intended for use with common blends, usually implying a biodiesel content greater than 1%.