engleski

Comparasion of two different methods for determination of biogenic fraction in liquid fuels

European Union’s promotion of the use of sustainable and renewable resources requires use of at least 10 % of synthesized biodiesel in liquid fuels by the year 2020. This legislation has stimulated various types of petrodiesel and bio-based component blends production, and development of methods for exact, effective and reliable quantification of biodiesel content. The method for determination of the biogenic fraction in liquid fuels by direct measurement of the 14C activity concentration via liquid scintillation counting (LSC) technique was developed in few laboratories worldwide. It is based on different 14C signatures of the two components: the biogenic component reflects the modern atmospheric 14C activity, while no 14C is present in fossil fuels. The quantity of 14C in the fuel is the criterion for bio-fuel presence. A great variety of biogenic matrices in fuels results in a wide range of quenching properties of different fuel mixtures. The laboratories participating in this intercomparison study developed two different calibration techniques. The Ruđer Bošković Institute data evaluation method is based on calibration curves for purely biogenic and purely fossil liquids, and does not depend on the exact chemical composition of the organic liquid. The limits of the method are defined by the SQP of app. 690 below which the count rate of biogenic and fossil liquids become indistinguishable from one another. The University of Novi Sad data evaluation method is very dependent on the composition of the examined fuels, so the obtained results in this case were relatively good. Future investigation should also test whether this calibration method is suitable for some other fuel matrices, for example for various types of domestic oil used in everyday life. Testing advantages and limitations of the two methods will continue in the future.

liquid fuels ; 14C ; biogenic component ercomparison ; intercomparison

Poster je osvojio 3. nagradu na 11. simpoziju HDZZ.