How the European biofuel sector uses instrumentation to meet stringent standards

What can monitoring professionals from other parts of the world learn from Europe’s biofuel industry?  

By Jed Thomas 

Europe’s energy transition is shaped as much by regulation as by innovation, and nowhere is that clearer than in its approach to biofuels.  

From biodiesel derived from used cooking oil to cellulosic ethanol, biomethane, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the EU’s biofuel sector is evolving rapidly.  

But its success depends on something far less headline-grabbing: the performance of instruments, sensors, and monitoring systems that make it all work, and prove that it’s working sustainably. 

For instrumentation users in the oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors, the European biofuel story offers rich insight into how high-precision measurement, control, and automation are not only enabling better biofuels, but also unlocking access to markets shaped by strict environmental compliance.

Advanced feedstocks and advanced monitoring 

Europe’s policy landscape is driving a shift away from crop-based biofuels.  

Under the Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II), EU member states are capping first-generation biofuels and incentivizing those made from waste oils, residues, and non-food biomass. 

This pivot introduces complexity: second-generation feedstocks vary in quality and consistency, meaning producers must monitor far more parameters across the process chain. 

For instance, hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) – now widely produced in refineries converted by Neste, TotalEnergies, and ENI – relies on high-pressure, high-temperature hydrotreatment units, where precise measurement of hydrogen flow, feedstock composition, and reactor temperature is essential.  

Inline NIR (near-infrared) analysers are used to monitor feed quality in real time, detecting variations in fatty acid profiles or contaminants that could poison catalysts. 

Producers co-processing bio-oils with fossil feedstocks use advanced blending control systems and mass spectrometry to determine the bio-derived fraction of output fuels.  

This is crucial for compliance with sustainability certification schemes and carbon accounting. 

Inline and lab-based fuel monitoring 

European standards for biofuels, such as EN 14214 for biodiesel and EN 15376 for ethanol, are among the world’s most stringent.  

Fuel producers must verify product specifications for properties such as viscosity, density, FAME content, sulphur, glycerine, and cloud point – often in real time. 

To do this, many plants have invested in inline process analysers like FT-NIR, mid-IR, and gas chromatography units.  

These instruments allow for continuous quality control, minimizing off-spec batches and reducing the burden on laboratory teams. 

Some facilities have also adopted automated sampling systems that feed analyser data directly into plant control systems.  

This allows for closed-loop process adjustments, such as tweaking methanol dosage in transesterification or adjusting distillation setpoints, without manual intervention. 

These real-time feedback loops are increasingly integrated with broader manufacturing execution systems (MES) and digital dashboards, enabling production teams to monitor fuel quality alongside energy use and emissions on a single platform. 

Proving GHG savings 

Under RED II and the upcoming RED III, only biofuels with certified greenhouse gas (GHG) savings over fossil fuels qualify toward EU targets.  

That means every litre of biofuel must come with a verifiable carbon footprint, tracked from feedstock to fuel. 

Instrumentation plays a central role in achieving and proving these savings.  

Flow meters, temperature sensors, and energy meters are used to calculate site-level energy inputs and emissions.  

Emissions analysers, including CEMS (Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems), track NOx, CO, CO₂, and particulate output from boilers and flares. 

In newer biorefineries, energy optimization systems use these sensor inputs to model energy balances in real time.  

By tuning the use of steam, process heat, and electricity, operators can lower both energy costs and carbon intensity.  

This data is then fed into life cycle analysis (LCA) tools used for compliance with certification schemes like ISCC, REDcert, or national GHG reporting platforms. 

Europe’s large biodiesel plants, such as those operated by Verbio and Cargill, also measure feedstock logistics, monitoring transport distances, storage times, and preprocessing energy to tighten CI (carbon intensity) scores.  

Some use blockchain-linked ERP systems that tie instrumentation data to each batch of certified fuel. 

Safety and compliance: Seveso-grade systems 

Many European biofuel facilities fall under the EU Seveso III Directive, which governs control of major accident hazards. As such, safety instrumentation is on par with that of petrochemical facilities. 

Methanol storage tanks, common at biodiesel and SAF plants, are equipped with overfill prevention systems, vapor recovery units, and explosion-proof level transmitters. 

Hydrogen systems used in HVO and synthetic fuel production are monitored using H₂-specific gas detectors and flow alarms, often tied into safety instrumented systems (SIS) with emergency shutdown capabilities. 

Biogas plants, common in Germany, Denmark, and Italy, require round-the-clock monitoring of CH₄, CO₂, and H₂S.  

Operators use inline gas composition analysers to ensure biomethane purity before grid injection.  

Overpressure valves and gas leak detectors, often installed with redundancy, help prevent dangerous accumulations in confined spaces or storage domes. 

Some newer facilities are also using AI-assisted safety systems that combine sensor data (e.g., temperature, gas concentration, vibration) with predictive models to detect early signs of faults or risk escalation. 

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Monitoring across the supply chain 

Europe’s biofuel sector is increasingly circular, with many refineries integrated into food, agriculture, or forestry supply chains.  

For example, UPM’s biorefinery in Finland uses tall oil, a residue from pulp processing, to produce renewable diesel.  

Here, instrumentation must track inputs that come from upstream operations and monitor co-products that flow into other value chains. 

Instrumentation isn’t just about the core fuel process. European operators also monitor wastewater treatment, nutrient recovery, and fugitive emissions. For example: 

• TOC (Total Organic Carbon) analysers and turbidity sensors ensure discharge water from ethanol and biodiesel plants meets local environmental regulations. 

• VOCs from biodiesel storage tanks are monitored with flame ionization detectors (FIDs) to prevent exceedances under air quality rules. 

• Online monitoring of fermentation off-gases is used to capture and purify biogenic CO₂, increasingly sold to food and beverage or chemical sectors—contributing to emissions reductions beyond the plant. 

Next steps: from SAF to e-fuels 

Europe’s newest biofuel frontier is aviation. The ReFuelEU Aviation regulation mandates 2% SAF use by 2025, scaling to 70% by 2050.  

This is accelerating investments in HEFA (used cooking oil-based), alcohol-to-jet, and power-to-liquid fuels. 

These next-gen fuels bring new instrumentation needs. Alcohol-to-jet units, for example, require tight control of reactor pressure, temperature, and alcohol purity.  

Power-to-liquid plants, using green hydrogen and captured CO₂, depend on highly sensitive flow, gas composition, and catalyst monitoring instruments—many of which mirror petrochemical industry standards. 

Europe’s biofuel industry is one of the most regulated, diversified, and data-driven in the world.  

Instrumentation, both simple and sophisticated, is the foundation that keeps it running safely, efficiently, and credibly. 

Whether it’s proving emissions reductions, navigating Seveso compliance, or optimizing the performance of SAF reactors, biofuel producers in Europe are relying on real-time measurement and advanced analytics more than ever.  

For the global instrumentation community, Europe offers both a roadmap and a proving ground for how sensors and control systems will shape the future of renewable fuels. 

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