Beta Analytic Determines Biogenic Fractions of Biofuels

ASTM D6866 Fast Facts:

• Measures biobased content of transportation biofuels and their combustion emissions
• Can be used to verify biobased content of blended fuels
• Applicable to bio-ethanol, biodiesel and bioblends, renewable diesel or HDRD, biomass-derived diesel, and other biofuels

Biofuel makers use ASTM D6866 to determine the biomass content of their products under development. Others use the method to check the accuracy of biofuel blends. The Australian Government Department of Climate Change recommends using ASTM D6866 to determine the percentage of biomass-derived components in blended liquid or solid fuels.

Biofuels and ASTM D6866

Biofuels are touted as good alternatives to fossil fuels because they produce carbon-neutral carbon dioxide when burned. Biofuels are solid, liquid, or gaseous fuels produced from biomass. Most biofuels in the market today are processed from photosynthetic plants. Examples of biofuels are bio-ethanol and biodiesel.

Many countries worldwide encourage, and in some cases require, the use of biofuels instead of fossil fuels as part of their global climate change policies. Some offer tax credits and other incentives. Due to these initiatives and regulations, the need to verify the biogenic fractions of biofuels arose. ASTM D6866 has been developed as a standard for the determination of biogenic fractions of natural range materials using radiocarbon dating.

Beta Analytic, the world leader in ASTM D6866, recommends this standard because it is the most accurate and well-validated analytical method available today for its application. In fact, many regulations in the US and Europe have already included ASTM D6866 in their greenhouse gas emission testing protocols.