Brazil: Fuels (Diesel): Biodiesel

Overview

Brazil has aggressive policies to promote the use of renewable fuels. The following are some of the important steps in the blending of renewable fuels into diesel fuel in Brazil:

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• In December 2004, Brazil starts the National Biodiesel Production and Use Program (PNPB) to increase the uptake of biodiesel nationally. The program would require laws, executive orders and other legal and normative measures to introduce mandates, define the federal tax model for biodiesel, establish the conditions for the registration of producers and importers and introduce many other measures to allow the program to achieve its objectives. ANP Resolution 42/2004 [2931] established specifications for biodiesel (B100) for use in blending with diesel fuel.
• Law 11.097 passed in December 2005 (amending Law 9.478 of 1997) mandated a minimum 2% biodiesel by 2008 and 5% by 2013. It also provided a broad definition of biodiesel that can be used to meet this mandate as a biofuel derived from renewable biomass for use in compression ignition engines that can partially or wholly substitute fuel of fossil origin.
• In July 2006, ANP Resolution 15/2006 [2926] introduced a voluntary 2% biodiesel allowance into diesel fuel that would remain in effect until the 2% mandate commenced in 2008.
• The National Council of Energy Policy (Conselho Nacional de Politica Energética, CNPE) subsequently introduced a number of resolutions to realize the requirements of Law 11.097. Resolution #2 of March, 2008 set a 3% requirement as of July 2008; Resolution #2 of April, 2009 set a 4% requirement as of July 2009 and Resolution #6 of September, 2009 set a 5% requirement as of January 2010.
• In March 2008, ANP Resolution 7/2008 [2932] establishes a new biodiesel specification that set limits on many of the parameters that were previously only reported.
• By mid-2011, biodiesel production overcapacity increased pressure by the biodiesel industry to increase the biodiesel mandate to 10%. In October 2013, a proposal to increase the blend level from 5% was put forward by the Energy Minister to the Presidency for approval.
• Early in 2012, consultation on revising ANP Resolution No. 7/2008 was carried out to enable use of B100, expand the number of possible raw materials that can be used for production, spur competition among producers and improve alignment with international standards. In May 2012, ANP Resolution 14/2012 [2933] revoked ANP Resolution 7/2008 and established a new biodiesel standard with a tighter water and sulfur limits, clearly defined CFPP limits that vary with region and calendar month and the setting of limits for mono-, di- and triglycerides.
• In May 2014, Provisional Measure 647/14 was passed that would require the biodiesel mandate to rise to 6% (B6) July 1, 2014 and to 7% (B7) November 1, 2014. Law No. 13.033 of September 24, 2014 finalized these changes [3296].
• In August 2014, ANP Resolution 45/2014 [3123] establishes a new biodiesel specification.
• In September 2015, CNPE Resolution 3 of September 21, 2015 authorized the sale and the voluntary use of blends with biodiesel that exceeded mandated levels subject to the following ceilings: 20% (B20) for on-road captive fleets served by common supply points, 30% (B30) for rail, agricultural and industrial use and 100% (B100) for experimental or other specific applications [3295].
• In March 2016, Brazil’s House of Representatives approved a law that would mandate 8% biodiesel (B8) in 12 months with subsequent blend hikes increasing this to 10% (B10) within three years [4417]. CNPE Resolution 3 of April 7, 2016 set March 23, 2017 as the date for the initial transition from B7 to B8 and confirmed that the B7 mandate would remain in effect until this date [3397].
• In June 2016, a multidisciplinary working group (Grupo de Trabalho para Testes com Biodiesel or GTTB) coordinated by the Ministry of Mines and Energy was set up to validate the use of B10 and B15 biodiesel blends [4418]. The working group published summaries of their validation work in April 2018 for B10 [4420] and in March 2019 for B15 [4421].
• CNPE Resolution No. 16 of October 29, 2018 [4419] authorized ANP to set the new percentage of biodiesel to diesel based on the approval of the GTTB working group. The proposed schedule would mandate B11 sometime after June 1, 2019, B12 starting March 1, 2020, B13 starting March 1, 2021, B14 starting March 1, 2022 and B15 starting March 1, 2023.
• The GTTB published its final report in August 2019, recommending an oxidation stability requirement for B15 of 20 h. It was concluded that an oxidation stability of 12h for the biodiesel component (B100) would be sufficient to achieve this [4422]. ANP revised the biodiesel quality specification, ANP Resolution 45/2014, accordingly [4423] and the date for implementation of B11 was set at September 1, 2019 [4441].
• CNPE Resolution No. 16 of October 29, 2018 was amended several times to delay the initial implementation schedule [6408][6407][6406]. Starting March 1, 2025, the national mandate was set to B14 [6405].
• ANP Resolution 920/2023 established an updated biodiesel specification [6726].

Biodiesel Quality

Some of the early biodiesel specifications are summarized in Table 1 [2931] and Table 2 [2932]. An earlier definition of biodiesel defined it as a fuel consisting of alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats (ANP Resolution 37/2005) [2934].

ANP Resolution 14/2012 [2933] introduced an updated definition of biodiesel as a fuel consisting of alkyl esters of long chain carboxylic acids produced from the transesterification and/or esterification of raw greases or fats of vegetable or animal origin and that meets the specifications in the Technical Regulation No. 4/2012 found in the Annex of ANP Resolution 14/2012. Table 3 outlines the requirements for biodiesel according to this regulation.

In 2014, the specification was updated by ANP Resolution 45/2014 [3123], Table 4. The updated specification established an 8 h oxidation stability that coincided with the start of the B7 mandate (November 1, 2014), tightened the specification on monoglycerides, eliminated the carbon residue limit and took care of a few other housekeeping issues. The specification was updated in 2019 to increase the oxidation stability to 12 h with the start of the transition from B11 to B15 (September 1, 2019) [4423].

In 2023, a new B100 specification was issued, ANP Resolution 920/2023, Table 6 [6726]. Changes from the previous specification included an increase in the oxidation stability limit to 13 h, reductions in the Na+K, Ca+Mg, P and monoglyceride limits, a narrower viscosity range and the introduction of the cold soak filterability as report only.

Biodiesel for Brazil’s federal units must meet the CFPP specifications shown in Table 6 [6726]. For earlier versions of this table, see the applicable resolutions [2933][3123].