In the United States, diesel fuel is controlled according to the American Society for Testing and Materials Standard (ASTM) D 975.  This standard describes a limited number of properties that diesel fuels must meet.  These requirements are all performance based and do not mandate the composition of the fuel.  This is only an excerpt from ASTM D 975-02.  For a complete copy of this ASTM standard you should visit the ASTM website at http://www.astm.org.