The purpose of the European Standard EN-14110 is to determine the methanol content of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) intended for use as pure biodiesel or as a blending component for domestic heating fuels and diesel fuels. The method is applicable for a concentration range from 0.01 % (m/m) to 0.5 % (m/m) methanol. Requirements stated in EN-14214:2003 are <0.2% (m/m) methanol (MeOH). The EN-14110 method is not applicable to mixtures of FAME that contain other low boiling components. For this application note the analysis was conducted using the internal standard method which was appropriate for manual headspace analysis. The analysis can be automated using a headspace sampler.

Key Learnings

1. The SCION Biodiesel analyzer was used to determine the methanol content of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) for use as biodiesel in accordance with method EN 14110. 
2. See the importance of using an internal standard for manual headspace analysis.
3. The robustness of the method was tested to show compliance and expected non-compliance with EN 14214 specifications across multiple biodiesel samples. 

Download this app note – Determination of Methanol Content in Biodiesel (EN 14110)