Tests conducted by the national Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the US Department of Energy show that the country’s coco-biodiesel is at par with the quality and efficiency of the commonly used diesel.

NREL engineer Teresa L. Alleman said that “stability measures on the fuel samples proved that [this] has adequate stability... Microbial deterioration testing showed similar degradability for the [coco-methyl ester] and neat diesel fuel samples tested.”

In samples from the Philippines, NREL compared the impact of a 1% and 5% blend of CME in additized and unadditized diesel. Coco-methyl ester (CME) is the substrate derived from breaking components of coconut oil. It is used as an additive to ordinary diesel. Ms. Alleman noted that a 1% CME blend in diesel fuel “continued” to meet the ordinary Philippine diesel properties.