Laboratory testing services for the verification of biogenic percentage in industrial products
Biobased Product Measurement
Quantifying the bio-based content of products by means of carbon 14 analysis can help to:
Validate bio-based claims
Determine the bio-based content of products for regulatory or certification
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.
Preparing your sample
We kindly ask you to prepare the sample to be sent to us respecting the following points:
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 a measurement.
Example 2
For a diesel fuel, the carbon content is ~87% and the density of diesel is
~\(737 kg/m^3 \).
If you send us diesel in a 1ml sample vial, we will have sufficient carbon quantity to make a measurement.
Send us as clean and homogenous samples as possible:
Materials with strong inhomogeneities can produce results that do not reflect the full nature of the product.
Use the following containers when packaging samples:
Sample Vials for liquids
Ziploc bags for solids
(For biological samples it is necessary to contact the laboratory in advance)
Request a measurement
In order to request a measurement, please fill out the
contact form
, specify a measurement inquiry and specify your required turn-around time, sample size,and desired precision in order to receive an accurate quote and further instructions
In your request, please include the and the following:
1. Desired Turn Around Time
Non-priority (15 days)
Standard (7 days)
Priority (4 days)
2. Desired Precision
< 2 pMC
< 1 pMC
< 0.5 pMC
3. Number of Samples
Single Sample / Single Source
Multiple Samples / Single Source
Multiple Samples / Multiple Sources
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