ASTM D5577-19

This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
Designation: D5577 − 19
Standard Guide for
Techniques to Separate and Identify Contaminants in
Recycled Plastics
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D5577; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision.Anumber in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
1. Scope 2. Referenced Documents
1.1 This guide is intended to provide information on avail- 2.1 ASTM Standards:
D789Test Method for Determination of Relative Viscosity
able methods for the separation and classification of contami-
of Concentrated Polyamide (PA) Solutions
nants such as moisture, incompatible polymers, metals,
D792Test Methods for Density and Specific Gravity (Rela-
adhesives, glass, paper, wood, chemicals, and original-product
tive Density) of Plastics by Displacement
residues in recycled plastic flakes or pellets. Although no
D883Terminology Relating to Plastics
specific methods for identification or characterization of foam
D1003Test Method for Haze and Luminous Transmittance
products are included, foam products are not excluded from
of Transparent Plastics
this guide. The methods presented apply to post-consumer
D1193Specification for Reagent Water
plastics.
D1238Test Method for Melt Flow Rates of Thermoplastics
1.2 For specific procedures existing asASTM test methods,
by Extrusion Plastometer
this guide only lists the appropriate reference. Where no
D1457 Specification for Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
current ASTM standard exists, however, this guide gives
Molding and Extrusion Materials (Withdrawn 1996)
procedures for the separation or identification, or both, of
D1505Test Method for Density of Plastics by the Density-
specific contaminants. Appendix X1 lists the tests and the
Gradient Technique
specific contaminant addressed by each procedure.
D1898Practice for Sampling of Plastics (Withdrawn 1998)
1.3 This guide does not include procedures to quantify the
D1925Test Method forYellowness Index of Plastics (With-
contaminants unless this information is available in referenced
drawn 1995)
ASTM standards.
D3418Test Method for Transition Temperatures and En-
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the thalpies of Fusion and Crystallization of Polymers by
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the Differential Scanning Calorimetry
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- D4019Test Method for Moisture in Plastics by Coulometric
priate safety, health, and environmental practices and deter- Regeneration of Phosphorus Pentoxide (Withdrawn
2002)
mine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
D5033GuideforDevelopmentofASTMStandardsRelating
NOTE 1—There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.
to Recycling and Use of Recycled Plastics (Withdrawn
1.5 This international standard was developed in accor- 3
2007)
dance with internationally recognized principles on standard-
D5227TestMethodforMeasurementofHexaneExtractable
ization established in the Decision on Principles for the
Content of Polyolefins
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recom-
E169PracticesforGeneralTechniquesofUltraviolet-Visible
mendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical
Quantitative Analysis
Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
E355PracticeforGasChromatographyTermsandRelation-
ships
1 2
This guide is under the jurisdiction ofASTM Committee D20 on Plastics and For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D20.95 on Recycled Plastics. contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM
Current edition approved April 1, 2019. Published May 2019. Originally Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on
ɛ1
approved in 1994. Last previous edition approved in 2010 as D5577-94(2010) , the ASTM website.
which was withdrawn January 2019 and reinstated in April 2019. DOI: 10.1520/ The last approved version of this historical standard is referenced on
D5577-19. www.astm.org.
Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States
D5577 − 19
E682Practice for Liquid Chromatography Terms and Rela- Techniques to separate and identify incompatible plastics,
tionships moisture, chemicals, or original product residues, and solid
E794TestMethodforMeltingAndCrystallizationTempera- contaminants such as metals, paper, glass, and wood are
tures By Thermal Analysis essential to the processing of recycled plastic materials.
E1252Practice for General Techniques for Obtaining Infra-
5.2 This guide lists existing ASTM and ISO methods plus
red Spectra for Qualitative Analysis
currently practiced industrial techniques for identification and
2.2 ISO Standards:
classification of contaminants in recycled plastics flake or
ISO 3451/1-1981Plastics—Determination of Ash; Part 1:
pellets.
General Methods
ISO 1183-1987Methods for Determining the Density and
6. Sampling
Relative Density of Noncellular Plastics
6.1 Unless otherwise stated, materials should be sampled in
3. Terminology accordance with the procedures described in Practice D1898.
Adequate statistical sampling should be considered as an
3.1 This terminology used in this guide is in accordance
acceptable alternative.
with Terminology D883 and Guide D5033.
3.2 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:
7. Existing ASTM or ISO Procedures
3.2.1 chemicals—nonhazardous or hazardous materials (for
7.1 Moisture:
example, insecticides or herbicides) potentially used in contact
7.1.1 A coulometric method (Test Method D4019), the
with plastic materials.
standard test method for haze (Test Method D1003), Karl
3.2.2 glue—adhesives used for labels or joining bottle parts
Fisher titration (Test Method D789), or a gravimetric proce-
(for example, ethylene-vinyl acetate).
dure (13.6.1 of Specification D1457) can be used to estimate
3.2.3 heavy metals—metals heavier than sodium on the
the moisture content of recycled plastic materials.
periodic table (for example, lead, arsenic, cadmium,
7.2 Visual Inspection and Product Uniformity:
chromium, or copper).
7.2.1 Color:
3.2.4 heavy plastic—unfilled polymers such as polystyrene,
7.2.1.1 Test Method D1925 measures the yellowness index
poly(ethylene terephthalate), and poly(vinyl chloride) and
of clear acrylic plastics and the haze and the luminous
filled materials with densities greater than 1.00g⁄cm .
transmittance procedure (Test Method D1003) characterizes
3.2.5 light plastic—polymers such as polyethylene and
the color of transparent unpigmented recycled plastic materi-
polypropylene with densities less than 1.00 g/cm .
als. These tests are not readily applied to pigmented plastic
samples.
3.2.6 original-product residues—residues from any
original-product contents of a plastic package (for example,
NOTE 2—Test Method D1925 is currently being revised by ASTM
milk, juice, or detergent).
Subcommittee D20.40 to address reproducibility and bias problems.
3.2.7 particles—piece of metal, glass, wood, paper, or other
7.2.2 Melt Flow for Product Uniformity—Uniformity of
discreetly shaped material equal to or larger than 0.1 mm .
some recycled plastic flakes or pellets can be estimated by
3.2.8 specks—any material equal to or less than 0.1 mm . measuring the flow rate of the material using an extrusion
plastometer (Test Method D1238).
4. Summary of Guide
7.3 Density or Specific Gravity—The displacement method
4.1 Thisguideprovidesdetailsofseveralproceduresusedto
for specific gravity or relative density (Test Method D792)or
separate and classify contaminants including, but not limited
the density-gradient procedure for density (Test Method
to, moisture, original product residues, incompatible plastic,
D1505) are useful techniques to determine contamination of
metal, paper, glass, adhesives, and wood in recycled plastic
recycledplasticflakesorpelletsampleswithoneormoreother
flakes or pellets. This guide lists existing ASTM and ISO
polymers.
methods that can be used to characterize solid and some liquid
NOTE3—TestMethodD1505usesrelativelysmalltestspecimens,soit
contaminants. In addition, this guide presents details of some
may not be applicable for analysis of nonhomogeneous recycled plastic
industry procedures for identification of contaminants. Appen-
materials.
dixX1providesinformationonquantitativeaspectsofsomeof
7.4 Inorganic Contaminants:
these industry standards that can also be used to estimate the
7.4.1 Anashtest,suchasISO3451/1,orthemuffle-furnace
concentration of various contaminants.
techniques currently being evaluated within ASTM Subcom-
mittee D20.70 (project designation X70-8702) can be used to
5. Significance and Use
estimate the inorganic filler content of recycled plastic flake or
5.1 Recycled plastic materials may contain incompatible
pellets.
plastic or other undesirable contaminants that could affect the
processingorquality,orboth,oftheplasticpreparedforreuse. NOTE 4—Some volatile metals may be lost using the test indicated in
7.4.1.ASTM Subcommittee D20.70 is currently developing a test method
(project X70-9201) for metals, including heavy metals, that will include
Available fromAmerican National Standards Institute (ANSI), 25 W. 43rd St., sample-preparation techniques to minimize the loss of volatile metals
4th Floor, New York, NY 10036, http://www.ansi.org. prior to analysis by X-ray fluorescence or spectroscopic techniques.
D5577 − 19
7.4.2 Ferrous (iron) contaminants can be removed with a 8.2.2.2 Press a plaque from the recycled plastic sample.
magnet and aluminum contaminants are separated from plastic Remove the plaque from the press and cool.
materials using density procedures in accordance with 8.3. 8.2.2.3 Visually examine the test plaque within a 10-cm
area using a fluorescent-light table. For comparison, repeat
7.5 Thermal Analysis:
8.3.1 and 8.3.2 with a portion of virgin resin representing the
7.5.1 Since most polymers exhibit unique temperatures for
bulkofthetestmaterial(forexample,poly(ethyleneterephtha-
melting or other phase transitions, measurement of these
late) (PET) if you are interested in contaminants in recycled
transition temperatures (Test Method D3418) or the melting
PET).
and crystallization temperatures (Test Method E794)ofa
sample may provide useful information regarding the identity
NOTE6—Thepresenceofgluecontaminationisindicatedbybondingof
theplastictothepolyestersheetusedasareleasematerialduringmolding
ofpolymericcomponentspresentinarecycledplasticmaterial.
of the plaque.
7.5.2 Both Test Methods D3418 and E794 involve thermal
NOTE 7—An alternative procedure for poly(ethylene terephthalate)
gravimetric analysis (TGA) or differential scanning calorim-
involves melting pellets for 10 min at 275°C in an aluminum pan. This
etry (DSC). These techniques utilize small samples (5 to 15
melt is rapidly quenched in ice water to prevent crystallization and the
mg),sotheymaynotbepracticalforuseincharacterizationof resulting disk or plaque is visually inspected for contaminants and black
specks by comparison with a control disk or plaque prepared from virgin
potentially nonhomogeneous recycled plastic materials.
PET.Inthiscase,blackspecksareattributedtodegradedpaper,adhesives,
7.6 Infrared Analysis—Qualitative infrared analysis using
poly(vinylchloride),orothercontaminantsinthepoly(ethyleneterephtha-
the techniques of Practice E1252 can be used to identify late).
polymeric, chemical, and, in some cases, inorganic compo-
8.3 Separations Based on Density:
nents of recycled plastic materials. Sample size considerations
8.3.1 Water-Density Separation:
indicated in 7.5.2 may also apply to preparation of samples for
8.3.1.1 Fillacleanplasticcontainerwith2Lofcleanwater.
infrared analysis.
Add sufficient nonionic surfactant to make a 2% (weight⁄vol-
ume) solution and mix thoroughly.
7.7 Chromatographic Analysis—The principles of gas
chromatography, described in Practice E355, and liquid
NOTE 8—Acknowledging that water quality varies from one part of the
chromatography, described in Practice E682, are useful for
countrytoanother,minimumwaterqualityforthistestincludesproperties
separation and classification of chemical contaminants or of Type III grade reagent water as defined in Specification D1193.
NOTE 9—Air pockets within flake material may cause the material to
residues from original-use contents of plastic packages.
fold back on itself. The surfactant (for example, Triton X-100 ) helps
eliminate this problem with plastic flakes.
8. Additional Industrial Procedures
8.3.1.2 Obtain a representative sample of recycled plastic
8.1 Specimen Preparation:
flakes (see 6.1) and weigh 100 6 10 g into a clean, dry plastic
8.1.1 Using standard injection molding equipment, prepar
...