Liquid Scintillation Spectrometry as a Tool of Biofuel Quantification

Abstract

Biofuels are common addition or substitute for fossil fuels, applied as an atempt to decrease the impact of transport on the environment. Because of a large variety of already known biofuels and intensive research in the ield, there is a high demand for analytical techniques for their quantiication in fuels. Liquid scintillation counting (LSC) is one of the ideal candidates for this kind of measurements because the measured substance is radiocarbon found in all biofuels. This chapter describes the fundamental feature of LSC measurements and possible sample preparation steps. One of the methods (direct LSC method) is highlighted. One of the method's advantages is simple sample preparation, thus suitability for every LSC laboratory. Calibration and validation results of three types of biocomponents, i.e., bioethanol, synthetic biodiesel [hydrogen-ated vegetable oil (HVO)], and conventional biodiesel [faty acid methyl esters (FAME)], are presented. All results show that the described method is suitable for routine analysis of various biocomponents.

Testing the Methods for Determination of Radiocarbon Content in Liquid Fuels in the Gliwice Radiocarbon and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory

“…Liquid scintillation spectrometry measures radioactivity and is used primarily for β-emitting isotopes such as 14 C (Krištof and Kožar Logar 2017). Determining bicomponent content in liquid fuels using this method compares the counting rate for both fossil and modern origin samples.…”

“…Several accurate and reliable testing methods are being used to confirm the eligibility of reimbursed taxes by controlling the content of bio components in fuels. Biocomponent fractions reflect 14 C content, and numerous studies prove the suitability and robustness of 14 C dating for liquid fuels (Reddy et al 2008; Krištof and Kožar Logar 2013; Culp et al 2014; Santos Arévalo et al 2015; Krajcar Bronić et al 2017; Krištof and Kožar Logar 2017).…”

“…In Poland, like in other European countries, the transportation sector contributes to increased energy consumption (Krištof and Kožar Logar 2013). As fossil fuel resources produce chemicals and energy, this made them known as the driving force behind the development of the world's lifestyle and economy (Krištof and Kožar Logar 2017).…”

“…Because of that, European Union member states are encouraged to increase the use of energy from renewable resources. Moreover, they decrease biocomponent taxes due to higher production costs as compared to fossil fuels (Dijs et al 2006;Krištof and Kožar Logar 2017;Karaaslan and Gezen 2022;Usman and Balsalobre-Lorente 2022).…”

“…In the carbamate method, also known as the LSC-A method (Horvatinčić et al 2004), the determination of 14 C is based on CO 2 preparation by combusting a sample in a controlled environment. The second is the benzene method (LSC-B; Horvatinčić et al 2004), where 14 C determination occurs after sample conversion to benzene by forming carbide followed by hydrolyzation to acetylene and the trimerization to get benzene (Horvatinčić et al 2004;Krištof and Kožar Logar 2017). Another procedure avoids sample pretreatment altogether (LSC-C), and involves simply mixing an appropriate scintillation cocktail with the sample (Norton et al 2012;Culp et al 2014;Krištof 2015;Doll et al 2017;Krajcar Bronić et al 2017;Doll et al 2021).…”