⛽ CFPP — Cold Filter Plugging Point

Petrochemistry PN-EN 116

Overview

STATUS (as of 30.10.2026). PN-EN 116:2015-09 — Polish version, published 29.09.2016, implements EN 116:2015 [IDT]; it replaced PN-EN 116:2001. The PKN catalogue card has no withdrawal note — the standard is current; Polish title according to the card: “Oleje napędowe i oleje opałowe lekkie — Oznaczanie temperatury zablokowania zimnego filtru — Metoda stopniowego schładzania”. EN 116:2015 replaced EN 116:1997: the automated method is described in detail alongside the former manual procedure, and the scope and precision were changed after a European interlaboratory study that also covered FAME and FAME blends in diesel fuel. An alternative technique with a linear cooling bath is EN 16329.

DEFINITION AND PRINCIPLE (3.1, clause 4). The CFPP is the highest temperature at which a given volume of fuel fails to pass through a standardized filtration device in a specified time, when cooled under standardized conditions. A test portion of the fuel is cooled and, at intervals of 1 °C, drawn into a pipette under a controlled vacuum of 2 kPa through a standardized wire mesh filter. The test continues until the wax crystals that have separated stop or slow down the flow so that filling the pipette takes longer than 60 s or the fuel fails to return completely to the test jar before it has cooled by a further 1 °C. The indicated temperature at which the last filtration was commenced is recorded as the CFPP.

SCOPE (clause 1). Diesel and domestic heating fuels: FAME, distillate fuels and paraffinic diesel fuels, including those containing FAME, flow improvers or other additives. The test is carried out with automated equipment; manual equipment may be used, but for referee purposes only automated equipment is allowed. The result is used to estimate the lowest temperature at which a fuel gives trouble-free flow in the fuel system; for diesel fuels it is usually close to the temperature of failure in service, except when the system contains a paper filter exposed to the weather or the CFPP is more than 12 °C below the cloud point. Domestic heating installations are usually less critical. The difference between results for the sample as received and after heat treatment at 45 °C for 30 min may be used to investigate complaints about performance at low temperatures.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS. “Standard” diesel fuel: CFPP at most 0 °C in the summer period (16.04–30.09), −10 °C in the transitional period (1.03–15.04 and 1.10–15.11) and −20 °C in the winter period (16.11–end of February); diesel fuel with improved low-temperature properties: at most −32 °C (Journal of Laws 2024, item 1018, Annex 3 item 19 and footnotes 3–5). Methyl ester used as a stand-alone fuel: 0, −10 and −20 °C in the same periods (Journal of Laws 2025, item 426, Annex 1 item 25).

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE HERE. The publicly available text of the standard ends with the description of the pipette (6.5.1). We do not give the filter design, vacuum system, cooling baths and their temperatures, the course of the test (clauses 9–10), calibration (clause 11) or precision (clause 13).

Method principle

A test portion of the fuel is cooled under specified conditions and, at intervals of 1 °C, drawn into a pipette under a controlled vacuum of 2 kPa through a standardized wire mesh filter. When the separated wax crystals slow down the flow so that filling the pipette to the 20 ml mark takes longer than 60 s, or the fuel fails to return completely to the jar before cooling by a further 1 °C, the test ends; the temperature at which the last filtration was commenced is recorded as the CFPP (clause 4, 6.5.1).

Applications

• Diesel fuel — CFPP at most 0 / −10 / −20 °C in the summer, transitional and winter periods; with improved low-temperature properties −32 °C (Journal of Laws 2024, item 1018)
• Methyl ester used as a stand-alone fuel — 0 / −10 / −20 °C (Journal of Laws 2025, item 426, Annex 1)
• Domestic heating fuels, distillate fuels, paraffinic diesel fuels, including those with FAME, flow improvers and other additives (clause 1)
• Investigating complaints about low-temperature performance — comparing the sample as received and after 30 min at 45 °C (clause 1)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 116:2015-09

Title (PL)

Oleje napędowe i oleje opałowe lekkie — Oznaczanie temperatury zablokowania zimnego filtru — Metoda stopniowego schładzania

Title (EN)

Diesel and domestic heating fuels — Determination of cold filter plugging point — Stepwise cooling bath method

Step-by-step procedure

1. Sampling

   According to EN ISO 3170 or EN ISO 3171 (normative references).

2. Filling the test jar

   The test jar is filled with sample to the 45 ml mark (6.1).

3. Cooling and filtration at every 1 °C

   The fuel is cooled under specified conditions; at each further 1 °C it is drawn under a vacuum of 2 kPa through the filter into the pipette, and the time to fill it to the 20 ml mark is measured (clause 4, 6.5.1).

4. End of the test

   The test ends when filling the pipette takes longer than 60 s or the fuel fails to return completely to the jar before it has cooled by a further 1 °C (clause 4).

5. Result

   The indicated temperature at which the last filtration was commenced is recorded as the CFPP (clause 4). Preparation of the apparatus, the detailed procedure and the expression of results are in clauses 9, 10 and 12 of the standard, outside the publicly available text.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• The standard warns that its use can involve hazardous materials, operations and equipment, and that users ensure the safety and health of personnel before applying it (clause 1)
• Heptane and isopentane are flammable — according to their safety data sheets
• Apparatus parts made of copper, zinc and brass can interact with FAME (clause 6)

Frequently asked questions