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Biobased product measurement

Quantifying the bio-based content of products by means of carbon 14 analysis can help to:

  1. Validate bio-based claims
  2. Determine the bio-based content of products for regulatory or certification
  3. Use the results of the bio-based carbon percentage in marketing strategies

The testing of bio-based products involves measuring the amount of biomass-derived carbon in a product in relation to its total organic carbon content.

Biobased materials are derived, in whole or in part, from biomass resources. Carbon 14 analysis is the most effective method to determine the amount of biobased carbon compared to petroleum-derived carbon. This is because carbon 14 is only present in living or recently deceased materials.

The analytical standard ISO16620 defines ‘biobased’ as containing organic carbon of renewable origin. Examples of this are agricultural, plant, animal, fungal, microorganism, marine or forestry materials living in a natural environment in equilibrium with the atmosphere.

Prepare sample shipment

Fill out the shipping form indicating the following information

 1. The desired turnaround time : 

  • Non priority 15 days
  • Standard 7 days
  • Priority 4 days

 2. The desired precision : 

  • < 2 pMC
  • < 1 pMC
  • < 0.5 pMC

 3. Number of samples 

We kindly ask you to prepare the sample to be sent to us respecting the following points:

1. Be sure to send us at least 7 mg of carbon : 

  • Example 1: Cotton contains about 45% carbon:
    Psample [mg] = 7[mg] / 0.45 = 15.5 mg
    If you send us at least 20 mg of cotton we will be sure to have the necessary amount of carbon to make the measurement.
  • Example 2: For a diesel fuel, the carbon content is about 87%, density of diesel is about 737 kg/m3:
    Vsample [ml] = 7[mg ] / (0.87 * 737 [kg/m3] ) = 0.0109 [ml]
    if you send us a diesel in a 1ml sample vials we will have sufficient carbon quantity for the measurement.

2. Send us as homogeneous and clean samples as possible:

  • Materials with strong inhomogeneities can produce results that do not reflect the full nature of the product.

3. Use the following containers for samples:

  • Sample Vials for liquids
  • Ziploc bags for solids
  • For biological samples it is necessary to contact the laboratory
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Biobased product measurement

Quantifying the bio-based content of products by means of carbon 14 analysis can help to:

  1. Validate bio-based claims
  2. Determine the bio-based content of products for regulatory or certification
  3. Use the results of the bio-based carbon percentage in marketing strategies

The testing of bio-based products involves measuring the amount of biomass-derived carbon in a product in relation to its total organic carbon content.

Biobased materials are derived, in whole or in part, from biomass resources. Carbon 14 analysis is the most effective method to determine the amount of biobased carbon compared to petroleum-derived carbon. This is because carbon 14 is only present in living or recently deceased materials.

The analytical standard ISO16620 defines ‘biobased’ as containing organic carbon of renewable origin. Examples of this are agricultural, plant, animal, fungal, microorganism, marine or forestry materials living in a natural environment in equilibrium with the atmosphere.

Prepare sample shipment

Fill out the shipping form indicating the following information

 1. The desired turnaround time : 

  • Non priority 15 days
  • Standard 7 days
  • Priority 4 days

 2. The desired precision : 

  • < 2 pMC
  • < 1 pMC
  • < 0.5 pMC

 3. Number of samples 

We kindly ask you to prepare the sample to be sent to us respecting the following points:

1. Be sure to send us at least 7 mg of carbon : 

  • Example 1: Cotton contains about 45% carbon:
    Psample [mg] = 7[mg] / 0.45 = 15.5 mg
    If you send us at least 20 mg of cotton we will be sure to have the necessary amount of carbon to make the measurement.
  • Example 2: For a diesel fuel, the carbon content is about 87%, density of diesel is about 737 kg/m3:
    Vsample [ml] = 7[mg ] / (0.87 * 737 [kg/m3] ) = 0.0109 [ml]
    if you send us a diesel in a 1ml sample vials we will have sufficient carbon quantity for the measurement.

2. Send us as homogeneous and clean samples as possible:

  • Materials with strong inhomogeneities can produce results that do not reflect the full nature of the product.

3. Use the following containers for samples:

  • Sample Vials for liquids
  • Ziploc bags for solids
  • For biological samples it is necessary to contact the laboratory

Our Solutions for 14C measurement

Materials

C14-SCAR is able to perform ¹⁴C analysis on various materials such as fabrics, plastics, fuels, solvents with measurement times and comparable to Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS)
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Pharma

The natural ¹⁴C label can be artificially enriched (even by orders of magnitude) to mark drugs and track their metabolic pathways in human clinical trials.
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Environment

Emissions from fossil fuels can be tracked and quantified by measuring the ¹⁴C content of CO² in air. The lower the content, the higher the contribution from combustion of fossil sources.
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