AutoblogGreen

While certainly not a must-have for everyone, the new i-Spec Q-100 will be valuable in the right, ahem, hands. Even though this gadget has an Apple-like name, the i-Spec won't play your iTunes files or let you make an iPhone call. Instead, the Q-100 is a handheld biodiesel quality tester .

Made by the Wisconsin company Paradigm Sensors, the i-Spec can test for total glycerin, acid number, blend percent, and methanol in the field. Paradign is introducing the tool at the 2008 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo, currently taking place in Florida.

Over at the Paradigm website, the company declares the tool "breaks through barriers to testing of biodiesel, which are as follows: the expense of testing, the length of time to test, the expertise needed to test, and the consistency and reliability of the testing results of instruments used in the field." We assume independent testing will be done in short order, but for now this technology looks promising for people who want to get a better idea of exactly what's in the tank of biodiesel they're making or buying.

[Source: Paradigm Sensors]