BS EN ISO 20200 pdf download – Plastics — Determination of thedegree of disintegration ofplasticmaterials under simulated composting conditions in a laboratory-scale test.
3.8
total dry solids
amount of solids obtaIned by taking a known volume of test material or compost and drying at about 105 C to constant mass
3.9
volatile solids
amount of solids obtained by subtracting the residue obtained from a known volume of test material or compost after incineration at about 550 C from the total dry solids content of the same sample
NOTE The volatile-solids content is an rndication of the amosit of organic rrietter present
4 Principle
The method determines the degree of disintegration of test materials on a laboratory scale under conditions swnulating an intensive aerobic composting process. The solid matrix used consists of a synthetic solid waste inoculated with mature compost taken from a commercial composting plant. Pieces of the plastic test material are composled with this prepared solid matrix. The degree of disintegration te determined after a composting cycle, by sieving the final matrix through a 2mm sIeve in order to recover the non-disintegrated residues. The reduction in mass of the test sample i considered as disintegrated rnatenal and used to calculate the degree of disintegration.
5 Synthetic solid waste
The composition of the synthetic waste used in this method Is described in Table 1
Well aerated compost from a conirnercial aerobic coinposting plant shall be used as the inoculum. The compost inocidum shall be homogeneous and free from Large mert objects such as ass, stones or pieces of metal. Remove any such objects manually and then sieve the compost on a screen of mesh aperture between 0,5 cm and 1 cm, Ills recommended that compost from a plant composting the organic fraction of solid municipal waste be used in order to ensixe sufficient diversity of microorganisms. If such a compost is not available, then compost from plants treating farmyard waste or mixtures of garden waste and solid municipal waste may be used. The compost shall not be older than 4 months.
Prepare the synthetic waste manually by mixing the different components listed In Tablet. The allowed tolerance on the mass measurements of the synthetic waste components, water included, is 5%. Add chloflne4ree tap water, or de-ionized or distilled water, to the mixture to adust its final water content to 55 % in total. Perform this operation just before start-up. The synthetic waste shall have a carbon:nitrogen (C/N) ratio of between 20:1 and 40:1, The urea concentration can be changed to adjust the C/N ratio to the required range. In this case, the concentration of the other components shall be austed proportionately in order to bring the total dry mass of the solid waste to 100%.
8 Monitoring the composting process
During the test, the synthetic waste shall become compost, i.e. the compostang process shall occur. The composbng reaction is monitored by inspecting the composting matter when mixing and adding water. The diagnostic parameters to be taken into account are both subec1ive and objective and are described in Clause 9.
9 Diagnostic parameters
9.1 Odour
During the composting process, it is possible to detect a precise succession of specific odours. Within the fist two or three days, the synthetic waste has an acidic odoia’. which gradually decays tote an ammoneacal odour from day 5 to day 10, lasting approximately 10 days. Finally, no particular odour, or an earth-hke one, is detected Record in the test report any departure from this scheme.
9.2 Visual appearance
The visual appearance of the composting matter changes during the first two weeks, Mycelia which grow on the composting matter will usually be visible during the first week. The colour of the synthetic waste, which is initially light yellow because of the high sawdust concentration, turns brown within 10 clays. Record In the test report any departure from this scheme.
9.3 ChemIcal analysis
Analyse samples of synthetic waste used at the beginning of the test and samples of the compost obtained at the end of the c.omposling process, after sieving, in order to determine the initial and final values of the following parameters total carbonftoqal nitrogen (C/N ratio) and p11. Measure these parameters using standard test methods, and record them.
NOTE The total carbon content used to determwie the C,’N ratio can be taken as the volatile-solids content devided by a factor of 2.
BS EN ISO 20200 pdf download – Plastics — Determination of thedegree of disintegration ofplasticmaterials under simulated composting conditions in a laboratory-scale test
