Carbon Dating

Biofuel: The Future of Fuel

Baltic Insurance and Survey wants renewable fuel producers to know that the US EPA is promoting renewable fuel use through a credit trading program. Conventional refineries can generate credits by processing biomass feedstocks alongside conventional crude-oil feedstocks, producing Renewable Diesel, Renewable Gasoline and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

To accurately identify these co-processed materials, the ASTM D6866 method measures the presence of the 14C molecule in renewable fuel samples. Unlike crude feedstocks — fossil fuels aged to the point where radiocarbon isotopes are no longer detectable — renewable feedstocks are recent biocomponents rich in 14C isotopes. The ASTM D6866 method measures percent modern carbon (pMC) in renewable materials to determine their biogenic and biobased content.