At CIRAM, we perform carbon-14 analyses in accordance with the NF EN 16640 standard to accurately determine the proportion of bio-based carbon in carbon-containing industrial products, such as plastics, polymers, solvents, and biocomposites.
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The NF EN 16640 standard is a European standard published in 2017, resulting from the work of the CEN/TC 411 technical committee, which is dedicated to the characterization of bio-based products. It is part of a set of standards 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 (carbon-14) dating, which makes it possible to distinguish between:
It thus allows for:
Unlike some international standards, the NF EN 16640 standard expresses the bio-based content as a percentage of the material’s total carbon content, ensuring that results can be interpreted consistently and compared.
To learn more about the principles of this standard and its application to radiocarbon analysis, please see our dedicated article: Standard NF EN 16640 and the radiocarbon analysis of bio-based products
Explore the areas of applicationMany companies in the biomaterials, biofuels and renewable energies sectors call on CIRAM to analyze the biobased content of their products according to ASTM D6866.
The NF EN 16640 standard applies to all products containing carbon, including plastics and polymers, biocomposites, bio-based solvents, and 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 specifies various analytical methods for measuring carbon-14. Among these is accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is now the gold standard due to its precision and sensitivity. This is the method used by CIRAM to ensure accurate, robust results that are directly applicable 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.
Request a quoteAt CIRAM, we apply the NF EN 16640 standard within a rigorously controlled analytical framework tailored to carbon-containing industrial products and the comparability requirements specific to European markets.
Our approach is based on high-precision carbon-14 analysis applied to a variety of matrices, in order to ensure consistent, comparable, and actionable results for the validation of bio-based content.
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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 benchmark 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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