In the automotive world, news that ASTM International had adopted the compound PMH (pentamethylheptane) for use as a primary reference fuel for determining the cetane number of diesel fuel was a big deal.

And it was a very big deal for Haltermann Solutions – which developed PMH, received a U.S. patent for its use, gained ASTM consensus for its use within the diesel industry as a primary reference fuel, and brought it to market.

“We are changing the way the world is measuring cetane numbers,” said Indresh Mathur, R&D Director. “It’s a process that has been done the same way for more than 50 years, but we came up with a better method.”

Since the 1930s, the ignition quality of diesel fuels has been measured by using Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) cetane rating engines which need reference fuels for rating.

Because primary reference fuels posed challenges related to cost and availability, the industry turned to secondary reference fuels – for about the last 60 years this was pair of fuels known as “T&U,” which Haltermann also makes. But working with T&U poses significant challenges to testers.

“The industry needed a robust, readily available, and cost-effective low cetane reference material, and we have provided it,” Indresh said. “Along with saving money, PMH will help testing labs eliminate analytical errors, reduce waste, save time, and also yield other benefits.”

Indresh isn’t concerned that PMH has the potential to impact T&U sales; in fact, he welcomes it.

“People might wonder why as a maker of T&U, we want to replace it with PMH,” Indresh said. “The answer is simple: It’s because we own the PMH patent for this use, which means any PMH used for measuring cetane numbers will be ours.”

To ensure PMH reaches its full potential, Haltermann is working with a variety of stakeholders around the world, which includes not only testing facilities, but also companies who sell and maintain the test engines, and even companies developing methods to determine diesel-ignition quality without using the engines.

“CFR engines are very costly to run, which means there is a market for alternatives,” Indresh said. “At least four companies are working on methods for determining what we call ‘derived cetane numbers’ using different technologies. “When those methods are finalized and harmonized, we want to be sure that they use PMH.”

Indresh is also working on gaining acceptance for PMH by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which promotes worldwide proprietary, industrial, and commercial standards.

“It’s rare that a company has the opportunity to make such a significant change to industry, especially one that brings so many benefits to customers,” Indresh said. “So, it’s very gratifying that all the work we put into PMH resulted in its certification as a primary reference fuel. We look forward to making sure it reaches its full potential in the worldwide market.”

In addition to PMH and T&U, Haltermann’s growing family of reference fuels includes the primary reference fuels isooctane, n-heptane, toluene, numerous octane blends, n-cetane, and several other fuels.