At CIRAM, we perform carbon 14 analyses in compliance with the NF EN 16640 standard to accurately determine the proportion of bio-based carbon in industrial products containing carbon, such as plastics, polymers, solvents, or biocomposites.
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The NF EN 16640 standard is a European standard published in 2017, resulting from the work of technical committee CEN/TC 411, and dedicated to the characterization of bio-based products. It is part of a set of references aimed at structuring and harmonizing methods for measuring bio-based content at the European level.
Its goal is to provide a reliable and standardized method for determining the proportion of bio-based carbon in any carbon-containing product, using carbon-14 measurement as a natural tracer.
The standard is based on radiocarbon analysis (carbon 14), which makes it possible to distinguish:
It thus allows for:
Unlike some international approaches, the NF EN 16640 standard expresses bio-based content relative to the total carbon of the material, ensuring a consistent and comparable reading of results.
To learn more about the principles of this standard and its application to radiocarbon analysis, please consult our dedicated article: the NF EN 16640 standard and radiocarbon analysis of bio-based products
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The NF EN 16640 standard applies to all products containing carbon, including plastics and polymers, biocomposites, bio-based solvents, as well as certain chemicals and industrial materials.
It is used at various stages of the materials lifecycle, from the development phase (R&D) through to market launch and certification processes, to provide an objective measure of bio-based content that is independent of supplier claims or material balance statements.
The standard provides different analytical methods for measuring carbon 14. Among these, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is today the reference technique due to its precision and sensitivity. This is the method used by CIRAM to guarantee precise, robust, and directly usable results in industrial and certification processes.
The analysis determines the percentage of modern carbon (pMC), a metric derived directly from the measurement of carbon-14. This value is then used to express the material’s bio-based carbon content as a percentage of total carbon, in accordance with the standard’s requirements.
Results can be expressed as a fraction of total carbon or as a percentage of bio-based carbon, ensuring a reliable, traceable, and reproducible measurement that is internationally recognized.
This approach provides a measurement that is independent of declarative formulations or material balances, based solely on the carbon isotopic signature.
Explore the areas of applicationAt CIRAM, we apply the NF EN 16640 standard within a rigorously controlled analytical framework, adapted to industrial products containing carbon and to the comparability requirements specific to European markets.
Our approach is based on the precise measurement of carbon 14 applied to various matrices, in order to guarantee coherent, comparable, and usable results in the validation processes of bio-based content.
We bring you :
Yes. NF EN 16640 applies to a wide range of bio-based products, while ISO 16620-2 is specific to plastics and polymers.
Plastics, solvents, biocomposites, and any product containing organic carbon.
It provides data used in certification and labeling processes, but does not constitute certification in and of itself.
Yes, our laboratory contributes to standardization efforts at the European level, particularly within the CEN/TC 411/WG3 working group dedicated to bio-based products.
The currently applicable version is standard NF EN 16640:2017, which serves as the reference standard for measuring bio-based carbon content through radiocarbon analysis in Europe.
To date, no major revisions have been published. The NF EN 16640:2017 standard remains the applicable version. Like any standard, however, it may be subject to revisions or updates as part of European standardization efforts.
Yes, the French version is available through AFNOR. This translation corresponds to the national adoption of the European standard, with no changes to its technical content.
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