ASTM International Committee D05 on Coal and Coke is seeking participation in the development of a proposed new standard, WK9165, Test Methods for Loss on Ignition of Solid Combustion Residues.

According to John Riley, a recently retired chemistry professor at Western Kentucky University, the question of how loss on ignition testing is done is an issue that a task group he chairs began looking at six years ago.

"Our task group had been looking at heating combustion residues to prepare them for elemental analysis," says Riley. "A primary concern of our committee is preparing samples for analysis. Loss on ignition testing is necessary for the analysis of combustion residues so we polled the committee to find out how it was done and discovered that there is no standard way of doing loss on ignition."

While the committee added a step to certain standards on how to uniformly prepare combustion residue for analysis, it was ultimately decided that Subcommittee D05.29 on Major Elements in Ash and Trace Elements of Coal, would develop WK9165 to provide a definitive method for determining loss on ignition. The proposed standard will cover the determination of the mass loss from solid combustion residues upon heating in an air or oxygen atmosphere to a prescribed temperature. The mass loss may be due to the loss of moisture, carbon, sulfur or other elements from the decomposition and/or combustion of the residue.

For further technical information, contact John Riley, Bowling Green, Ky. (phone: 270/842-2757; bgrileys@insightbb.com). Committee D05 will meet May 14-17, 2006, at the May Committee Week in Toronto, Canada. For membership or meeting details, contact Scott Orthey, ASTM International (phone: 610/832-9730; sorthey@astm.org).

Release #7249