Differentiation Between Fossil and Biofuels by Liquid Scintillation Beta Spectrometry - Direct Method

Liquid scintillation spectrometry of 14C in gasoline/ethanol and diesel oil was carried out using QUANTULUS® and straight mixtures of fuel and an organic scintillation cocktail. A linear correlation was found between the concentration of carbon that originates from the bioethanol (biocarbon) and the fuel mixture's 14C activity in the range 0 – 100 % (m/m) bioethanol content. Because of the good linear correlations, quantitative determination of a fuel's biocarbon content can be made by 14C analysis. The direct method is also applicable to analysis of the biobased materials dissolvable in solvents, which can be mixed with scintillation cocktails. Introduction The world economy is strongly dependent on fossil fuels. Rising fuel prices and the Kyoto Protocol are driving a shift towards renewable energy sources to reduce CO2 emissions. The United States has declared a preference for using biobased materials in the U.S. Department of Agriculture program called the Federal Biobased Products Preferred Procurement Program (FB4P) [1]. Biofuel production is increasing in the U.S. to expand renewable energy usage and the Federal Government is pushing strongly towards an economy less dependent on fossil fuels. Directive 2003/30/EC of the European parliament and of the council of 8 May 2003 on the promotion of the use of biofuels or other renewable fuels for transport, call for 5.75 % biofuel proportion from the total sales in EU by 2010 (traffic fuels, gasoline and diesel) [2]. a p p l i c a t i o n n o t e