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DESCRIPTION
FAME biodiesel consists of a family of fuels derived from methyl-esters treated vegetable oils. We refer to Fame
biodiesel as biodiesel in this document.
A. Biodiesel types
There are two main types of biodiesel:
○ RME - Rapeseed Methyl Ester (or a blend of rapeseed and sunflower methyl ester), which is the preferred
crop in Europe.
○ SME - Soybean Methyl Ester, which is the preferred crop in North America.
B. Type of blends
You can use biodiesel fuel to run diesel engines in blends with standard EN 590 diesel:
○ B5 indicates a blend of 5 % biodiesel fuel and 95 % diesel fuel.
○ B7 indicates a blend of 7 % biodiesel fuel and 93 % diesel fuel.
○ B20 indicates a blend of 20 % biodiesel fuel and 80 % diesel fuel.
○ B100 indicates pure or 100 % biodiesel fuel.
NOTICE: CASE CONSTRUCTION does NOT APPROVE B100 for its equipment. B20 is the maximum
approved biodiesel fuel blend on Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4a construction equipment. The Tier 4b engines
with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system are compatible ONLY up to B7 . Refer to attachment
A for the maximum allowed biodiesel blend.
C. Comparison with pure diesel fuel
○ Positive features:
Biodiesel has several positive features in comparison with pure diesel
■ Biodiesel fuel adds lubricity to the fuel, which is beneficial in many circumstances, particularly as there is no
sulfur or aromatics in the fuel.
■ Biodiesel has a greater cetane number and burns cleaner.
■ Biodiesel produces less particulate matter and reduces smoke emissions.
■ Biodiesel is fully biodegradable and non-toxic.
○ Negative features
Biodiesel has several drawbacks in comparison with pure diesel:
■ Biodiesel is an organic blend which means that it is subject to degradation over time. The degradation of the
biodiesel will eventually generate algae, bacteria, fungi, and spores, which can damage the fuel circuit and/
or the components of the fuel injection equipment. Normal stability of biodiesel blends greater than B7 is 3
months, and biodiesel blends B7 or less is 6 months.
■ Biodiesel is hygroscopic and tends to collect water at a higher rate than standard diesel fuel.
■ It is critical to perform a biodiesel quality control to ensure the current EN14214 standard. The quality control
ensures that there are no harmful quantities of chemical elements such as - P (Phosphorus), Ca (Calcium),
Mg (Magnesium), Na (Sodium), and K (Potassium), which may pollute the after-treatment catalytic system.
Pollution of the after-treatment catalytic system jeopardizes the reliability of both the Tier 4a and the Tier 4b
Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) after-treatment systems.
■ Biodiesel increases NOx emissions which as a consequence, increases the DEF/AdBlue® consumption in
the case of Tier 4a as well as Tier 4b SCR applications.
■ Biodiesel can dilute the engine lube oil and cause inadequate engine lubrication when you exceed the rec-
ommended oil change intervals on Tier 4a applications with a Diesel Particle Filter (DPF).
The standards below cover the requirements for pure biodiesel ( B100 ):
• EN14214 - Automotive fuels. Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) for diesel engines, requirements and test methods
• DIN V 51606 – German standard for biodiesel
In order to convert raw oil into usable biodiesel fuel, the raw oil must undergo transesterification to remove glycerides.
During the transesterification process, the raw oil reacts with an alcohol to separate the glycerine from the raw oil. This
process leaves behind two products: methyl ester (the chemical name for biodiesel) and glycerine (a side product
usually sold for use in soaps or other products).
NOTICE: CASE CONSTRUCTION only allows transesterified biodiesel fuels that comply with standard EN14214
or standard DIN V 51606 , except when we state differently in the guidelines below.
NOTE: CASE CONSTRUCTION does NOT approve the use of unrefined vegetable oils, such as home-made/
purchased cold-pressed biodiesel, cold-pressed oil, Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO). These fuels normally come from
oil seed rape, or similar high oil containing crops. These are non-transesterified fuels that do NOT fulfil the current
standard EN14214 or standard DIN V 51606 requirements. There is no recognized standard available for these
types of fuel, as such, there are no quality standards.
NOTE: CASE CONSTRUCTION Warranty will NOT cover any engine nor fuel injection system from CASE CON-
STRUCTION equipment that ran with any blend of NON-APPROVED fuel (Fuel that does not meet the specifications
of standard EN14214 or standard DIN V 51606 ).
NOTICE: CASE CONSTRUCTION does NOT APPROVE B100 for its equipment. B20 is the maximum
approved biodiesel fuel blend.
When you agree to use biodiesel, you MUST accept the reduced power and an increase in fuel consumption as
this is normal with the use of biodiesel.
In order to recover any reduced performance, Do NOT modify:
○ any part of the engine
○ any part of the injection pump
○ the engine management settings
○ the settings of the engine management system (for example: data set, ECU, fuel pump injectors, sensors, etc.)
If the engine performance continues to deteriorate over time, immediately contact your dealer to verify the integrity
and / or possible clogging of either the low pressure or high pressure fuel circuit.
A. Original equipment
○ The main concerns that relate to the operation with biodiesel blends are:
■ Filter clogging and/or damage to the components of the Fuel Injection Equipment (FIE) by organic deposits
due to intrinsic fuel instability and microbial growth (microbes).
■ Wear and/or corrosion of the internal FIE components due to water content.
■ Deterioration of not-compatible rubber sealing compounds
■ Biodiesel oxidation that can lead to the formation of deposits
■ Degradation of the after-treatment system (SCR, DPF, PM catalyst etc) due to pollutants that are potentially
present in the biodiesel blends. Due to emissions non-compliance, the degradation of the after-treatment
system can cause an engine “de-rate code” or a “fault code”.
NOTE: CASE CONSTRUCTION Warranty will NOT cover any concern with the engine, the engine fuel
injection equipment, and after-treatment systems when the non-compliance to the following conditions for the
biodiesel fuel handling and biodiesel fuel maintenance causes the concern.
B. Retrofitted after-treatment devices
For Tier 3 and older machines that have exhaust after-treatment devices from the aftermarket, such as Diesel
Particulate Filters (DPF) or Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR), consult the device supplier to determine if the
device is compatible with biodiesel.
C. Blends up to B7 :
CASE CONSTRUCTION approves the use of Biodiesel blends up to B7 in all past and current production CASE
CONSTRUCTION engines. For CASE CONSTRUCTION engines please see Attachment A of this bulletin. For
non- CASE CONSTRUCTION engines follow the engine manufacturers guidelines for biodiesel blends.
Biodiesel blend specifications:
■ The European diesel fuel specification EN 590 allows up to 7 % biodiesel since 2009. Fuel suppliers can
use up to B7 ( 7 % ) biodiesel fuel to supply the network.
Even though CASE CONSTRUCTION approves of the use of greater biodiesel blends according to the list on At-
tachment A, diesel FIE manufacturers allow B7 as the maximum blend. FIE service may reject any warranty claim for
equipment failure due to the use of biodiesel in blends greater than B7 . In these cases, forward the warranty claim
directly to CASE CONSTRUCTION .
CASE CONSTRUCTION will consider the warranty claim only if you strictly follow all of the specified requirements
in these guidelines for:
• biodiesel fuel type
• biodiesel quality
• biodiesel handling
• biodiesel storage
• vehicle maintenance
For machines with engines that precede compliance to the Tier 2 emissions regulations and for machines that are
out of production, more generally for all earlier machines not in the following list, the only approved blends are up
to, and including B7 .
There are no evaluations on the use of greater biodiesel blends in previous models and their engines. Biodiesel
deteriorates old type rubber, seals, etc, and there are no conclusive tests on older engines.
CASE CONSTRUCTION will NOT cover any engine on a CASE CONSTRUCTION vehicle (with an existing warranty)
which ran with a biodiesel blend greater than B7 if the vehicle is not present in Attachment A (previous model or
out of production model)
WARRANTY STATUS
Service Bulletins DO NOT constitute warranty authorization to update units, unless stated otherwise.