The non-profit Iowa Central Fuel Testing Laboratory has earned an accreditation as a BQ-9000 laboratory, a voluntary biodiesel quality assurance program overseen by the independent National Biodiesel Accreditation Commission.


While 62 biodiesel producers and marketers are now BQ-9000 certified companies, the laboratory designation is new.

The National Biodiesel Board congratulated the lab on the accomplishment.

"Not every biodiesel plant has an onsite laboratory to test fuel, so there is a need for qualified, credible laboratories to test fuel samples," said Steve Howell, NBB technical director. "This will help streamline the process of ensuring only high quality biodiesel makes it into the commercial marketplace."

Housed at Iowa Central Community College, the nonprofit lab offers cost-effective, rapid testing for biodiesel producers nationwide, as well as petroleum distributors and government agencies tasked with fuel quality monitoring. The lab also tests other fuels like ethanol and petroleum.

"Pursuing BQ-9000 was a good business decision," said Don Heck, ICFTL director. "Anyone can set up a lab, but how do you set up a lab with teeth? This gives us instant credibility compared to our competitors."

Heck said what sealed the deal was an effort to earn the business of the Iowa Department of Agriculture's Weights and Measures Bureau. The agency is tasked with fuel quality monitoring, including biodiesel, and it is required by law to work with an accredited facility for testing fuel from retail pumps.

Among other things, earning the designation involved creating a detailed manual that regulates the process used in every step of the lab's biodiesel testing. A third-party auditor inspected the facility before granting accreditation.

A combination of federal and state funding helped secure more than $2 million for the lab.