LUOMUS

Finnish Museum of Natural History

BioMonitor - biofraction determinations of flue gases

Markku Oinonen, docent, Director of Laboratory & Antto Pesonen, Quality Coordinator

Decreasing the use of fossil fuels is one of the most important means of controlling the climate change. The most accurate, and sometimes the only, method to determine the ratio of biobased fuels and non-renewable fossil fuels is radiocarbon measurement. Biofraction determinations of flue gases have been developed in several projects in cooperation with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland from the year 2005 funded by TEKES (Projects Biohiili 1 & 2, CO2-SERVICE, BioMonitor). In the projects Biohiili 1 & 2 the first biofraction determinations were performed and a prototype methodology for sample pretreatment was examined (Hämäläinen et al 2007). The project CO2-SERVICE in the years 2009-2010 was heavily focused in method development as a Proof-of-Concept type project by TEKES and sampling and sample pretreatment process was further developed towards EU standard ISO/DIS 13833, currently being finalized.

 

            Ratios of bio/fossil fuels can be determined from the flue gases (Wikipedia Commons)..

The continuation project BioMonitor (2011-2014) is part of TEKES's Groove-program and is coordinated by VTT. The goal of the project is to develop business opportunities in order to start providing commercial CO2 monitoring service. During the previous CO2-SERVICE project the sampling method, radiocarbon determinations and reliability of the analysis process was verified by a long field experiment. Using the method it is possible to reliably monitor the bio/fossil fuel ratios in co-firing power plant or in other industry using heterogenical mixed fuels. The project is conducted in cooperation of different governmental officials, energy producers and research institutions.

 

Hämäläinen K, Jungner H, Antson O, Räsänen J, Tormonen K, Roine J (2007) Measurement of biocarbon in flue gases using 14C, Radiocarbon 49: 325.

Person in charge of the page: 
Markku Oinonen
12.11.2013