Biogenic Carbon Testing of Biofuels

Measuring % Biogenic Carbon versus % Fossil Carbon in any biofuel blend, lubricant, and liquids with high petrochemical content

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What does “biogenic” mean?

The ASTM D6866 analytical standard defines “biogenic” as containing carbon (organic and inorganic) of renewable origin like agricultural, plant, animal, fungi, microorganisms, macroorganisms, marine, or forestry materials.

Biogenic carbon testing uses Carbon-14 technology to determine the biomass-based or biogenic fraction vs. fossil fraction of biofuels and other products. For example, bio-ethanol and synthetic fossil-derived ethanol are chemically indistinguishable but Carbon-14 testing will accurately distinguish the two.

Measuring % Biogenic Carbon

To illustrate how Carbon-14 analysis is applied for biofuels, let us use renewable diesel as an example.

The application of Carbon-14 analysis to derive the renewable diesel content in a mixture is built on the same concepts as radiocarbon dating. It is done by comparing the amount of radiocarbon (carbon-14) in an unknown sample to that of a modern reference standard. The ratio is reported as a percentage with the units “pMC” (percent modern carbon). If the material being analyzed is a mixture of present-day radiocarbon and fossil carbon (which contains no radiocarbon), then the pMC value obtained correlates directly to the amount of renewable diesel present in the sample.

Biofuel Manufacturers Need Carbon-14 Analysis to:

Qualify for certain tax credits and comply with regulations, e.g. US EPA Renewable Fuel Standard
Check the accuracy of biofuel blends
Obtain precise results for R&D

Biogenic Testing Reporting Standards

ASTM D6866 – Biogenic content percentage is expressed as a fraction of total carbon
EN 16640 – Result is expressed as % biobased carbon as a fraction of total carbon (applicable ONLY to lubricants and liquids with high petrochemical content)

SGS Beta’s Biogenic Content Testing Services

Standard Service – results are reported in 7 business days or less
Priority Service – 4 business days or less

Biofuels regularly analyzed at SGS Beta include bioethanol, renewable diesel, fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), used cooking oil (UCO), palm oil mill effluent (POME), hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), low pour fuel oil (LPFO), low sulfur fuel oil (LSFO), black fuels (e.g. marine fuels), renewable naphtha, CNSL (cashew nut shell oil), and food waste oil, to name a few.

Ready to submit samples for testing? Read our guidelines

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Page last updated: July 2025