Getting an ASTM specification through its consensus balloting process isn’t easy—especially in the fuels business. One negative vote is enough to kill a ballot. And every major petroleum company (ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, Conoco, etc.) and every major OEM (Cummins, Caterpillar, John Deere, Ford, GM, Chrysler, etc.) send the very best engineers and scientists money can buy to represent their own parochial interests. ASTM is not for the faint at heart, but when an ASTM specification is obtained, it really means something. This is why the ASTM specifications currently approved for biodiesel are such a big deal.
Read more:http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/blog/article/2014/09/a-big-year-at-astm-for-biodiesel