U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced new procurement preferences for bio-based engine oils.
The agency amended it's guidelines to include eight product categories that will now gain the preferential 'nod' from federal purchasers if bio-derived products are included.
Amongst these are engine crankcase oil, gasoline fuel additives and water turbine bearing oils, along with a range of aircraft, marine and automotive cleaners. The guidelines apply from 11th July 2013 and, as well as specifying the product types, provide details of the minimum bio-based content for each category and sub-category.
The latest procurement specs have been developed as part of the USDA's BioPreferred program, which requires potential suppliers to submit product samples for testing. According to reports, several major motor oil producers submitted bio-based engine oils, with a wide range of formulations including some with more than 50% bio-content.
The USDA finally settled on a 25% minimum bio-content for crankcase oils, encouraged by a "major marketer" of engine oils being able to supply a product line with content on or above this level. This is a 4% increase on the previous mark set by the guidelines.
The latest preference specs also require water turbine bearing oils to contain a minimum of 46% bio-based components to be eligible for the preference programme.