⛽ Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) — as a fuel and as a component, PN-EN 14214

Petrochemistry PN-EN 14214

Overview

THE SCOPE FROM THE PKN CATALOGUE CARD IN THE POLISH VERSION, QUOTED VERBATIM: "This European Standard specifies requirements and test methods for marketed fatty acid methyl esters (hereinafter FAME) intended for use both [so in the card] as fuel in compression-ignition (diesel) engines and for heating applications at 100 % FAME, or as a component of distillate fuels for compression-ignition (diesel) engines meeting the requirements of EN 590, and of heating oil. The use of 100 % FAME as a fuel is appropriate in compression-ignition (diesel) engines and in heating applications designed or suitably adapted to run on 100 % FAME."

TWO WAYS OF USE IN ONE DOCUMENT — THAT IS THE HEART OF THIS STANDARD. The scope distinguishes FAME used as a FUEL in pure form (100 % FAME) from FAME used as a COMPONENT — a blending stock for distillate fuels meeting EN 590 and for heating oil. The distinction has a practical consequence: the same batch of esters is subject to the same requirements whatever its intended use, but the consequences of the result differ. Used as a component, the result feeds further into the assessment of the finished fuel under PN-EN 590, described in this knowledge base; used as a 100 % fuel, the assessment ends with this standard.

A CONDITION ON THE SIDE OF THE ENGINE AND THE INSTALLATION. The scope provides that the use of 100 % FAME is appropriate in engines and heating installations "designed or suitably adapted" to run on it. Conformity of the fuel with the standard therefore does not make it suitable for any engine whatever — the same construction as in PN-EN 590, where the 7.0 % (V/V) FAME limit is drawn on the side of the vehicle rather than of the sample.

TWO FIELDS OF APPLICATION: ENGINES AND HEATING. The title and the scope name, alongside compression-ignition engines, HEATING APPLICATIONS as well. This is therefore not a transport-only standard; citing it in the documentation of a heating installation is not an error, though it is sometimes taken for one.

THE "+A2" ELEMENT IS PART OF THE DESIGNATION. What is in force is PN-EN 14214+A2:2019-05, implementing EN 14214:2012+A2:2019 — a European document of 2012 with amendment A2 of 2019 incorporated into the text. A reference to "PN-EN 14214:2012" without the +A2 element points to a different document. The standard is available IN BOTH LANGUAGE VERSIONS: the Polish card has a publication date of 01-06-2020 and 28 pages, and the English card exists alongside it. This sets the item apart from PN-EN 590 and PN-EN 228 of the same technical committee, whose editions in force are available in English only — the availability of a translation is settled separately for each standard and cannot be carried over from one item to another.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We do not have the text of the standard — PKN supplies it for a fee (KT 222/PK 1 — the PKN technical committee for Liquid Fuels). We therefore GIVE NO LIMIT VALUE: neither for ester content, nor oxidation stability, nor the content of water, glycerol or methanol.

REACH OF CITATIONS: ZERO. Reading of 23.09.2026 on the working copy of the accreditation-scope database: the string "EN 14214" does not occur there EVEN ONCE. A positive control in the same domain shows what laboratories testing methyl esters actually cite: PN-EN 14103 (ester content) — 14 entries at 8 laboratories, PN-EN 14104 (acid number) — 13 at 8, PN-EN ISO 12185 (density) — 69 at 28. So the scopes contain standards for individual determinations, while PN-EN 14214 itself stands nowhere in this copy. WHAT THIS ZERO DOES NOT MEAN: it does not result merely from the fact that PN-EN 14214 is a product standard — the product standard PN-EN 197-1 (cement) stands in the reference-document field at 4 laboratories in 35 entries (the same copy, 23.09.2026). Why there is zero for PN-EN 14214, we have not established.

Method principle

Conformity of FAME is assessed by setting the test results against the table of requirements of the standard, for each parameter by the method named in it. The same set of requirements applies whether the esters are to be used as a 100 % FAME fuel or as a component of distillate fuels — what differs is the continuation of the assessment: a component feeds further into the testing of the finished fuel.

Applications

• Assessing the conformity of FAME intended for use as a 100 % fuel in adapted engines and installations
• Assessing FAME intended as a component of distillate fuels meeting EN 590 and of heating oil
• Quality control at biofuel producers
• The reference document for four method entries in this knowledge base in the field of fuels

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 14214+A2:2019-05 (dostępna w wersji POLSKIEJ i angielskiej; wprowadza EN 14214:2012+A2:2019 [IDT])

Title (PL)

Ciekłe przetwory naftowe -- Estry metylowe kwasów tłuszczowych (FAME) do użytku w silnikach samochodowych o zapłonie samoczynnym (Diesla) i zastosowań grzewczych -- Wymagania i metody badań

Title (EN)

Liquid petroleum products — Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) for use in diesel engines and heating applications — Requirements and test methods

Step-by-step procedure

1. Establish the intended use of the batch

   A 100 % FAME fuel, or a component for distillate fuels and heating oil. The requirements are the same, but the continuation of the assessment differs.

2. Check the condition on the side of the equipment

   For 100 % FAME the scope requires an engine or installation designed or adapted to run on it.

3. Read the test programme

   From the table of requirements, together with the specified methods.

4. Carry out the determinations

   By the specified methods; a measurement by another method does not demonstrate conformity.

5. Record in the report

   Give the FULL designation including the amendment element: PN-EN 14214+A2:2019-05, and the intended use of the batch.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• FAME is a flammable liquid; in contact with the skin it acts as a degreasing agent and an irritant
• Materials soaked in FAME (rags, sorbents) may ignite spontaneously through oxidation — store them in closed metal containers
• TECHNICAL NOTE: conformity of FAME with this standard does not settle the conformity of the fuel it is added to — these are two different assessments

Frequently asked questions