BS EN 16906 specifies a test method for the determination of cetane numbers (“CN”) in diesel fuel in the range from CN 45 to CN 63, using a standard single cylinder, four-stroke cycle, indirect injection engine.
BS EN 16906 is applicable to distillate as well as paraffinic diesel fuels intended for use in diesel engines, including those containing fatty-acid methyl esters (FAME), ignition-improvers or other additives. The cetane number scale comprises a range from zero to 100, but typical testing is currently performed in the range from about 40 CN to about 75 CN.
Note 1: This engine test procedure may be used for other fuels such as synthetics and vegetable oils. However, samples with fuel properties that interfere with the gravity-based pre-supply pressure to the fuel pump e.g. due to high viscosity can only be used to a limited extent. Precision data for such fuels are not available at this stage. Precision data for paraffinic diesel fuels are currently under development.
Note2: The test method is also suitable for determining cetane numbers outside the range of the scope, however, the precision statement only applies for fuels in the specified range.
BS EN 16906 on the determination of the ignition quality of diesel fuels - BASF engine method is useful for:
The cetane number provides a measure of the ignition characteristics of diesel fuels in compression ignition engines. The cetane number is determined at constant speed in a compression ignition test engine equipped with a swirl chamber.
BS EN 16906 provides you method for determining the Cetane number which measures the ignition quality of a diesel fuel obtained by comparing it with reference fuel blends of known cetane numbers and the fuel to be measured in a standardized test engine under controlled conditions.
BASF engine method specified in BS EN 16906 is based on DIN 51773 [1], which has been developed in DIN NA 062-06-43 AA “Engine testing of liquid fuels” and which is being used very successfully since more than 30 years. The described method is an alternative quantitative determination of the cetane number of middle distillate fuels intended for use in compression ignition engines.
BS EN 16906 provides guidance on calibration, verification and quality control, Engine check and warm-up and allows you to evaluate the cetane number using a calibration graph.
Note: A correlation study between this method and EN ISO 5165:1998 [2] has been done and the results of this are incorporated in the precision report issued in 2014 [3]. The testing of pure FAME (which is in the scope of EN ISO 5165) has been excluded from the scope for the time being as there seem to be sample-specific biases for such product. CEN will initiate appropriate causal studies
EN 16906:2017