Differentiation between fossil and biofuels by liquid scintillation beta spectrometry - direct method

Liquid scintillation spectrometry of 14C in gasoline/ethanol and diesel oil was carried out using Quantulus(R) and straight mixtures of fuel and an organic scintillation cocktail. A linear correlation was found between the concentration of carbon that originates from the bioethanol (biocarbon) and the fuel mixture's 14C activity in the range 0-100% (m/m) bioethanol content. Because of these good linear correlations, quantitative determination of a fuel's biocarbon content can be made by 14C analysis. The direct method is also applicable to analysis of the bio-based materials dissolvable in solvents, which can be mixed with scintillation cocktails. (authors)