Independent reports commissioned by OFGEM and the Renewable Energy Association (REA) have acknowledged the carbon-14 technique to be an accurate method for the determination of biomass content of flue gases. Data from the carbon-14 test is then used to compute for the renewable energy content of the waste-derived fuels like municipal solid waste.

According to Mr. Richard Bellingham, OFGEM’s Manager for Renewables: Biomass, Waste and Co-firing, OFGEM is prepared to consider fuel measurement and sampling procedures that propose to use the Carbon-14 technique on a case to case basis. OFGEM will require the following information from electricity generators that will use the technique: (1) procedure for sampling flue gases, (2) technique for determining the carbon-14 to carbon-12 ratio in samples of flue gas, and (3) carbon ratio to energy calculations.

In the announcement dated July 8, 2011, OFGEM stressed that generators are not obligated to use the Carbon-14 technique.

OFGEM regulates the gas and electricity markets in the UK and takes charge of the Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) Program. A ROC is a green certificate issued for eligible renewable electricity generated within the UK and supplied to customers in the UK by a licensed supplier. Generally, one ROC is issued for each megawatt hour (MWh) of eligible renewable output generated. ROCs can also be claimed against the percentage of the electricity generated from the biomass portion of the waste feedstock.

UK NNFCC Champions Carbon-14 Technique

The UK’s National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) for biorenewable energy, fuels, and materials supports OFGEM’s decision to approve the Carbon-14 technique. Dr. Matthew Aylott of the NNFCC describes the carbon-14 technique as an easy and accurate tool to differentiate between carbon dioxide emissions from fossil and renewable fuels.

In March 2011, the NNFCC hosted a conference entitled “Linking Bio-Based Materials to Renewable Energy Production.” At this conference, Mr. Chris Manson-Whitton of Progressive Energy discussed the straightforward relationship between renewable carbon and renewable energy. During his presentation, he showed how to compute for the renewable energy content using the renewable carbon content data.

In the same conference, Beta Analytic Deputy Manager for European Operations Mr. Alexander Shroff talked about Carbon-14 and how it is measured.

The Powerpoint Presentations of Mr. Manson-Whitton and Mr. Shroff are available at the NNFCC website.

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According to the Dft, measuring the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 in the biofuel is likely to be the simplest and most accurate way to determine the fuel’s renewable content considering the variability of the feedstock components.

The proposed test, however, is only relevant to suppliers of partially renewable fuels that are not currently listed in Annex III of the Renewable Energy Directive, e.g. synthetic diesel from the gasification of municipal solid waste. The suppliers are required to determine the fraction of the biofuel attributable to renewable feedstock to obtain Renewable Transport Fuel certificates.

The consultation period began on March 10, 2011, and ended on June 2, 2011. The Dft will publish a summary of the responses by July 18 after which it will prepare a draft of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations (Amendment) Order to be submitted to the UK Parliament in autumn 2011.

Source: UK Department for Transport

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Mr. Shroff was also present at Booth #17 in the exhibit hall to promote ASTM D6866 testing to more than 150 participants from various industries including the automotive industry, civil engineering, consumer goods, and the packaging industry. The 4th Biowerkstoff Kongress was held at the Maternushaus in Cologne, Germany, on March 15-16, 2011.

ASTM D6866 Required in Biobased Product Certification Programs

There are several biobased product certification programs that recommend or require ASTM D6866 testing. Vincotte in Belgium requires biobased content measurements via ASTM D6866 for its OK Biobased program. This program uses a star system to disclose a product’s biobased content – one star for biobased content between 20% and 40%, two stars if between 40% and 60%, three stars if between 60% and 80%, and four stars for biobased content of more than 80%.

Aside from Vincotte’s OK Biobased Program, ASTM D6866 testing is also required in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s BioPreferred Voluntary Labeling Program, Japan BioPlastics Association’s BiomassPla certification and labeling system, and EcoLogo Program’s CCD-170 standard for instant hand antiseptic products.

Beta Analytic ASTM D6866 Lab

ISO 17025-accredited Beta Analytic recommends sending a maximum of 10 cc for non-combustible fluids, 200 microliters for combustible fluids, 50 cc for fluids with 90% water content, or 25 grams of solids for ASTM D6866 biobased content analysis. The company has no required minimum number of samples. According to Beta Analytic, one measurement is fine if results are for R&D purposes only. For product certification, two analyses per material are recommended for better credibility and averaging. For product market protection or any purpose that may entail commercial or legal repercussions, three to four analyses per material are recommended.

Beta Analytic’s ASTM D6866 lab is based in Miami, Florida, and has sample forwarding facilities in North Sydney, Australia; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Beijing, China; New Delhi, India; Nagoya, Japan; and London, UK.

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The NNFCC is the UK’s national center for biorenewable energy, fuels, and materials.

Measuring Biobased Content

One key difference between materials from renewable sources and those produced from fossil inputs is the level of carbon-14 in them; renewable materials have carbon-14 while fossil inputs no longer contain this weakly radioactive carbon isotope. Quantifying a material’s carbon-14 content provides a measure of its biobased content, which is defined as the “amount of biobased carbon in the material or product expressed as a percent of weight (mass) of the total organic carbon in the material or product” as per the ASTM D6866 standard.

Products that are 100% biomass have 100% biobased content while those that are 100% fossil have 0% biobased content. Products that are partly biomass and partly fossil have biobased content greater than 0% and less than 100%.

Beta Analytic Biobased Content Testing Lab

ISO 17025-accredited Beta Analytic provides biobased content testing through its lab in Miami, Florida, and sample forwarding facilities in North Sydney, Australia; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Beijing, China; New Delhi, India; Nagoya, Japan; and London, UK. Biobased content of products is measured via ASTM D6866, which is an industrial application of radiocarbon dating.

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Industry Experts at EFIB 2010

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Based on radiocarbon dating techniques, ASTM D6866 is a standard method used to determine the percentage of a product that came from renewable sources. “I’m looking forward to meet current and prospective clients and share updates on eco-labeling programs that require ASTM D6866 testing. I am also very interested to know the latest developments in the EU’s biobased industry,” Mr. Shroff says.

EuropaBio’s EFIB 2010 will start off with two pre-conference workshops followed by plenary sessions and parallel tracks focusing on feedstock, innovation, policy, business, and finance. There are at least 50 presentations by industry experts during the conference and more than 30 companies participating in the exhibition. Networking and other social events are also scheduled during the conference. EFIB organizers expect more than 300 people to attend the event at the Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa Edinburgh.

Beta Analytic provides high-quality ASTM D6866 testing to the biotechnology industry through its lab in Florida, USA, and offices and representatives in London, UK; Nagoya, Japan; and Beijing, China. The lab has a turnaround time of 4-7 days.

October 22, 2010 Update:

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All certified products under the program undergo ASTM D6866 testing, which determines the biobased content of a product by measuring its radiocarbon (or carbon-14) content. Materials from renewable sources have known levels of radiocarbon in them whereas those from fossil sources have zero radiocarbon. ASTM D6866 correlates radiocarbon content to the percentage of the material that came from renewable sources.

Four-Star Rated Products

NatureWorks LLC (USA) was the first company awarded by Vincotte with a four-star rating for all 40 grades of its Ingeo biopolymer resins. Other products awarded with the highest rating are:

- Telles’ Mirel P1003, a semi-crystalline polyester specifically designed for high modulus injection molding applications;

- Wuhan Huali’s PSM HL-300A, a granulated biopolymer made from corn starch that can be processed in common film blowing, sheet extrusion, and injection molding machinery;

- Arjowiggins Healthcare’s Natural Colors G1 Sterelisation Wraps, which are used as non-food packaging materials.

Since the OK Biobased Program’s launch in 2009, Vincotte has already certified many products including those of Novamont Spa (Italy), Indochien Bio Plastiques (Malaysia), Kingfa Sci. & Tech. Co. (China), Wey Hing Industrial Co. (Hongkong), Ter Beke nv (Belgium), and NAPAC Schweiz (Switzerland), among others.

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Measuring the Renewable Carbon Content

The quantity of renewable carbon present in any given product is measured via a standard analytical method called ASTM D6866, which measures the biobased content versus the fossil content of a material by carbon-14 analysis. ASTM D6866 is an application of radiocarbon dating without the use age equations.

Products that are from renewable sources have a well-characterized amount of carbon 14 in them and are 100% biobased. Those products that are purely fossil have no carbon 14 and therefore 0% biobased. Materials with both fossil and renewable inputs have a biobased content greater than 0% but lesser than 100%.

OK Biobased Rating System

The OK Biobased rating system uses stars to indicate the biobased content or amount of renewable carbon in a product. A product with a one-star rating has a biobased content between 20%-40% while those with two stars have biobased content between 40%-60%. Three stars are given to products with 60%–80% renewable carbon, and those with more than 80% biobased content will receive a four-star rating.

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Novamont (Italy), NatureWorks LLC (US), and Wuhan Huali (China) are the first batch of OK Biobased licensees. A list of their products that now carry the OK Biobased logo are found here.

Vinçotte’s OK Biobased program aims to aid manufacturers and vendors make a verifiable claim on their products’ renewable origin. The program, launched in September 2009, initially accepted raw material producers only. As of January 2010, OK Biobased is open to manufacturers and distributors of intermediates and finished products.

About Vinçotte

Based in Volvoorde, Belgium, Vinçotte provides specialised inspection, monitoring and certification services. It has more than 2,000 employees around the world. Its other offices are in France, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Oman, UAE, Algeria, Japan, and India.

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According to French company Aliapur, used tires are not wastes but are traditional solid fuels better than coal or petroleum coke. A three-year study by Aliapur’s Research & Development unit has proven what the French cement industry has known since the 1970s – used tires as fuels have high heat output with less environmental impact than fossil fuels.

Used tires when burned emit less fossil carbon dioxide due to their biomass components. Used passenger car tires, according to the study, have biomass fractions between 17% to 20% while used truck tires are 28% to 30% biomass.

The study, considered to be the first of its kind in Europe, aimed to establish reference values and provide details on the chemical properties of used tires. Results have been submitted to France’s State Department for the Environment as reference for calculations of CO2 emissions from cement plants.

Aliapur collaborated with five companies in France and Beta Analytic, Inc., in Florida, USA for the research and also with independent consultancy firm Price Waterhouse Coopers for the documentation. Aliapur completed the research in July 2009.

Aliapur Research Results

The biomass fraction of the used tires was quantified through ASTM D6866, which is a standard method based on radiocarbon dating techniques. The used tires were also characterized by measuring their calorific values (amount of heat released during combustion) and carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, chlorine, fluorine, and bromine content.

Table 1 – Select values from the Aliapur Study. Details of the results can be downloaded from Aliapur’s Web site.

The Aliapur study presents scientific proof that used tires when burned produce comparable heat output as burning coal or petroleum coke. It also showed that used tires have considerable biomass fractions, which impact their combustion carbon dioxide emissions. Unlike coal and petroleum coke, used tires when burned produce carbon-neutral CO2 emissions due to their organic components, e.g. natural rubber, rayon, and stearic acid.

Due to a higher proportion of metal in used truck tires, they have lower calorific values and carbon content but higher biomass content than used passenger car tires, Aliapur says.

Source: Aliapur Research on Using Used Tires as an Alternative Fuel

Benefits of Using Tire-Derived Fuel

Used tires, also called end-of-life tires (ELT), are converted into tire-derived fuel, which are used tires shredded into sizes based on an industry’s technical requirements. Foremost users of ELT are cement plants, pulp and paper mills, and other energy-intensive industries.

Companies use ELT to reduce their fuel expenses and comply with air quality and pollution control regulations. ELT are cheaper than coal and petroleum coke; thus, ELT use generates savings. Many countries around the world now require companies to annually report their CO2 emissions. Using ELT as fossil fuel alternative enables companies to report lesser fossil CO2 emissions. Moreover, companies participating in cap-and-trade schemes like the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme can also obtain carbon credits when they have low fossil CO2 emissions. Carbon credits have monetary value and can be sold or traded.

Cement plants, in particular, also have an additional benefit in using ELT. They use whole tires in kilns because the metal in tires add iron to the clinker they are producing – a benefit that they cannot get from coal or petroleum coke.

About Aliapur

Aliapur focuses on used tires recovery in France. The public limited company was created in 2003 with Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, Goodyear, Kléber, Michelin, and Pirelli as founding members and principal customers. Aliapur aims to neutralize the environmental hazards posed by used tires in France. For more information, visit http://www.aliapur.fr.

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Belgian inspection, testing, and certification body Vinçotte has launched the OK Biobased eco-label to help manufacturers of biobased products inform consumers that their goods are from biologically renewable sources. Products eligible for the OK biobased eco-label include those made, wholly or in part, from materials of natural origin. Applicants are required to submit carbon 14 analysis results of their products as proof of biobased content.

Products eligible for this Vinçotte eco-label exclude solid, liquid, or gaseous fuels. The OK Biobased eco-label is applicable to raw materials, intermediates, additives, and finished products. An OK Biobased certificate is valid for 3 years.

Biobased Content Measurement via Carbon Dating

Popularly known as an archaeological tool, radiocarbon dating can also be used to measure the biobased content of a material. A standard method called ASTM D6866 was developed precisely for this application. A product’s biobased content depends on how much renewable carbon or carbon 14 is present in it. Materials that came from renewable sources have well-characterized levels of carbon 14 in them whereas those of fossil origin no longer have carbon 14. Thus, an ASTM D6866 result is easily correlated to a product’s biobased content.

OK Biobased Star System

The OK Biobased logo features stars to indicate a product’s biobased content – the more stars, the higher the content that came from renewable sources. A product with a logo having one star has a biobased content between 20% and 40%, two stars if between 40% and 60%, three stars if between 60% and 80%, and four stars if more than 80%.

Products must have at least 30% organic carbon and be at least 20% biobased to carry the logo. Biobased content measurement is done via ASTM D6866, and organic carbon fraction is measured according to Vinçotte’s TS-OK20.

For more information, visit www.okbiobased.be.

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Companies in energy-intensive industries use RDF for many reasons. Some use RDF as fossil fuel substitute or co-fire it with coal to decrease fuel spending. Cement plants in Europe, for example, use RDF to comply with the strict standards of the EU Waste Incineration Directive. In regions with carbon emissions cap-and-trade systems in place, companies incinerate RDF to keep their GHG emissions within established limits and obtain carbon credits that they can sell or trade.

Most refuse-derived fuels are from municipal solid wastes – a mixture of biomass (e.g. paper and wood) and fossil-based materials like plastics. The biomass portion of RDF when burned produces carbon-neutral CO2 that is exempted from regulatory reporting and deductible from GHG inventories. The higher the biomass content of the RDF used, the more credits a company can potentially obtain.

Tyrannosaurus® – the Giant Among Waste Crushers

BMH Enviro’s waste-to-fuel process provides a different approach to waste treatment and recycling. The heart of the system is the Tyrannosaurus®, which is designed for industrial-scale, continuous waste crushing. It can make products of different particle sizes in a single pass using common wastes or even tough materials like used car tires. BMH Enviro’s system usually includes other products with different capabilities like machines that separate ferrous from non-ferrous metals, screening devices, waste feeding systems, and conveyors, among others.

CEN 15747 Testing

The RDF produced by BMH Enviro’s Tyrannosaurus® Waste Crusher was tested for renewable content in Beta Analytic’s lab in Miami, Florida. Results showed that the RDF sample has a biocarbon content of 70%.

RDF Biocarbon Content Report for BMH Finland

Test results disclosed with BMH’s expressed consent

CEN 15747 was developed specifically for Solid Recovered Fuels testing. The method is the European equivalent of ASTM D6866, a standard that originated in the U.S. and used to determine biogenic carbon content of solids (like RDF and bioplastics), liquids like biofuels, and gases like emissions from stacks.

About BMH Enviro

BMH Enviro is a business unit of BMH Technology Oy. Both companies are based in Rauma, Finland. For inquiries, contact Rainer Rehn at +358-20-486-6800. Details about the company and its products are found at http://www.bmh.fi.

About Beta Analytic

Beta Analytic Inc. has provided radiocarbon dating services since 1979 and has satellite offices in London, UK and Nagoya, Japan.  The company is accredited to the ISO 17025 standard. It has served more than 9,000 scientists and engineers in more than 30 countries around the world and continues to provide carbon 14 analysis to the archaeology industry and to industries needing biomass carbon content determination. For inquiries, contact Mauricio Larenas at 305-662-7760 or info@betalabservices.com.

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