TESTING AND ANALYSIS OF BIOBASED PRODUCTS

CIRAM and its scientific teams measure, verify and certify your biobased products (solid, liquid and gas) using the radiocarbon or carbon-14 method by AMS. CIRAM uses the standards EN 16640:2017, ASTM D6866-22, EN ISO 21644:2022, ISO 16620-2:2019 and EN 16785:2016.

We measure the amount of carbon-14 in all carbon containing products. The carbon-14 or radiocarbon concentration is the percentage of bio-based carbon in your materials. Radiocarbon or carbon-14 analysis is applicable to many industrial fields, such as biopolymers, biofuels, solid recovered fuels (SRF), building materials, paints, varnishes, detergents, bitumens, flavours, fine chemicals, heavy chemicals, food, cosmetics.

Radiocarbon or carbon-14 analysis quantifies, qualifies and certifies your bio-based products.

With more than seventeen years of experience in radiocarbon analysis, CIRAM and its laboratories carry out more than 3,000 measurements per year throughout the world.

The fields of application of our biobased laboratory

The field of application of radiocarbon analysis by AMS is very broad. For each of your bio-based products or materials, radiocarbon analysis ensures :

Measurement of the biobased vs. synthetic (or petroleum-based) concentration;
Verification of raw materials, validation of a formulation or control of regulatory and normative compliance;
Certification of your biobased products, in order to obtain an ecolabel or a certification.

Let’s discover together the fields of application of our laboratory.

Food quality control laboratory

Radiocarbon analysis of food products will allow the detection of adulteration by the addition of synthetic products or the verification of a manufacturing or extraction process by quantifying the percentage of natural and synthetic ingredients. Stable isotope analysis can be used to verify or identify the geographical origin of a product, such as coffee, cotton or meat. From the analysis of stable isotopes of nitrogen, we can also authenticate products from organic farming.

Analysis of bioplastics

Thanks to the measurement of carbon-14 concentration by AMS, our doctors and engineers can quantify the biobased content of your biopolymers in general and your bioplastics in particular. The CIRAM laboratory uses ASTM D6866-22 and ISO 16620-2:2019 standards for the analysis of biopolymers in general, and bioplastics in particular, by AMS radiocarbon.

AMS radiocarbon analysis of your biopolymers and bioplastics is necessary and indispensable for obtaining the OK biobased and DIN CERTCO label.

Analysis of biobased building materials

Paints, varnishes, panels, insulation materials, floor coverings, furniture, our laboratory examines and evaluates the biobased content of all building materials. Using AMS radiocarbon analysis and the expertise of our researchers, we can measure the biobased content in all building materials.

The 2020 environmental regulation (ER 2020) positions bio-based materials as priority solutions in new buildings. This is why it is becoming essential to qualify and certify your building materials.

CIRAM uses the EN 16640:2017 and EN 16785:2016 standards for the analysis of building materials. Radiocarbon analysis by AMS is necessary to obtain the label biobased product by Karibati for example.

Analysis of liquid and gas biofuels

Our laboratory measures the biogenic carbon content and checks the blends of your biofuels or those of your partners. These studies can be performed on solids, liquids and gases.

Radiocarbon analysis uses the principle of carbon-14 dating to quantify the biogenic versus fossil portion of biofuels. CIRAM uses ASTM D6866-22 and EN 16640:2017 for AMS radiocarbon analysis of biofuels.

Cosmetics testing laboratory

More and more cosmetic products claim a high content of natural products. Through laboratory analysis, CIRAM is able to accurately study the proportion of biobased products contained in the active ingredients and excipients of a cosmetic product. We can analyse raw materials, formulation tests and finished products. Radiocarbon or Carbon-14 testing can be used at any level of your production chain (from R&D to BtoC) to measure the proportions of natural and synthetic products and can help you achieve a 100% natural product.

Solid recovered fuels (SRF)

Radiocarbon analysis is also relevant for solid recovered fuels to measure the proportion of biogenic carbon in gas or solid samples. Carbon-14 measurement allows the quantification of carbon dioxide from biomass versus carbon dioxide from petroleum-based products. CIRAM uses the EN ISO 21644:2022 standard dedicated to the analysis of solid recovered fuels by the radiocarbon method.

Packaging, cardboard and wood

Although cardboard and wood are directly derived from biomass, the coatings, inks, paints and varnishes applied will influence the bio-based content of your packaging. AMS radiocarbon analysis of your packaging will quantify the biogenic carbon content and inform you about the effect of a particular coating or treatment.

CIRAM, European leader in biobased analysis

CIRAM ensures the quality of its analyses of biobased products by using the following international standards:

• NF EN 16640:2017, European standard. Biobased products – Biobased carbon content – Determination of biobased carbon content by the radiocarbon method;
• ASTM D6866-22, American Standard. Standard Test Methods for Determining the Biobased Content of Solid, Liquid, and Gaseous Samples Using Radiocarbon Analysis ;
• EN ISO 21644:2022, European standard. Solid recovered fuels – Method for determination of biomass content ;
• ISO 16620-2:2019, international standard. Plastics – Biobased content – Part 2: Determination of biobased carbon content ;
• NF EN 16785:2015: European standard. Biobased products – Biobased content – Part 1: Determination of biobased content by radiocarbon and elemental analysis.

This set of standards certifies the quality and know-how of our laboratory dedicated to the analysis of biobased products.