In the consultation document published by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) regarding the implementation of the transport elements of the EU Renewable Energy Directive, the DfT is proposing to determine the renewable portion of partially renewable fuels through carbon-14 dating techniques.
According to the Dft, measuring the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 in the biofuel is likely to be the simplest and most accurate way to determine the fuel’s renewable content considering the variability of the feedstock components.
The proposed test, however, is only relevant to suppliers of partially renewable fuels that are not currently listed in Annex III of the Renewable Energy Directive, e.g. synthetic diesel from the gasification of municipal solid waste. The suppliers are required to determine the fraction of the biofuel attributable to renewable feedstock to obtain Renewable Transport Fuel certificates.
The consultation period began on March 10, 2011, and ended on June 2, 2011. The Dft will publish a summary of the responses by July 18 after which it will prepare a draft of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations (Amendment) Order to be submitted to the UK Parliament in autumn 2011.
Source: UK Department for Transport
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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 2nd, 2011 and is filed under Biobased Regulations, Biogenic Carbon Testing of Biofuels, Renewable Carbon .