FprEN 17761

• Abstract:

  This document specifies a method for the determination of the chloride content in ammonium nitrate fertilizers of high nitrogen content.; This document is applicable to the fertilizing products blends where a blend is a mix of at least two of the following components: fertilizers, liming materials, soil improvers, growing media, inhibitors, plant biostimulants, and where the following category: inorganic fertilizers is the highest % in the blend by mass or volume, or in the case of liquid form by dry mass. If inorganic fertilizer is not the highest % in the blend, the European Standard for the highest % of the blend applies. In case a fertilizing product blend is composed of components in equal quantity, the user decides which standard to apply. Variations in analytical methods for fertilizing product blends can lead to differing results as some components or matrix interactions can affect the outcome. Validation procedures have shown that developed standard methods are robust and reliable across diverse product compositions, but possible interferences and unexpected results when analysing fertilizing product blends are possible.

• Status: Not Published
• Publication Date: 03-Feb-2027
• ICS: 65.080 - Fertilizers
• Technical Committee: CEN/TC 260 - Fertilizers and liming materials
• Drafting Committee: CEN/TC 260/WG 7 - Chemical analysis
• Current Stage: 4599 - Dispatch of FV draft to CMC - Finalization for Vote
• Start Date: 20-Aug-2026
• Due Date: 31-Aug-2027
• Completion Date: 20-Aug-2026
• Directive: Harmonized Standard2019/1009 - Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 laying down rules on the making available on the market of EU fertilising products and amending Regulations (EC) No 1069/2009 and (EC) No 1107/2009 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 (Text with EEA relevance)
• Mandate: M/564 - Fertilising products in support of Regulation (EU) 2019/1009
• Mandate: M/564 Amd 1 - amending Implementing Decision C(2020) 612 as regards certain harmonised standards and standardisation deliverables, deadlines for their adoption and the duration of the validity of the standardisation request
• Mandate: M/564 Amd 2 - Commission Implementing decision amending Implementing Decision C(2020)612 as regards harmonised standards, the deadlines for the adoption of those standards and the duration of the validity of the standardisation request to the European Committee for Standardisation as regards the EU fertilising products in support of Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 of the European Parliament and of the Council
• Ref Project: oSIST prEN 17761:2026 - Inorganic fertilizers - Determination of the chloride content in ammonium nitrate fertilizers of high nitrogen content

• Revises: CEN/TS 17761:2022 - Inorganic fertilizers - Determination of the chloride content in ammonium nitrate fertilizers of high nitrogen content
• Effective Date: 01-May-2024

Overview

FprEN 17761: Inorganic fertilizers - Determination of the chloride content in ammonium nitrate fertilizers of high nitrogen content is a European standard developed by CEN/TC 260, focusing on fertilizers and liming materials. This standard outlines a robust, validated method for analyzing chloride content in ammonium nitrate fertilizers with high nitrogen levels. The methodology supports reliable quality control, ensuring compliance and product safety in both standalone fertilizers and diverse fertilizer blends in the agricultural sector.

This standard is applicable to fertilizing product blends where inorganic fertilizers represent the highest percentage by mass or volume. If inorganic fertilizers are not the major component, the relevant European standard for the dominant blend component applies. The standard helps laboratories, manufacturers, and regulatory authorities achieve consistent results, even as certain blend components or matrix interactions may introduce analytical variation.

Key Topics

• Scope and Applicability
  • Focuses on determining chloride content in high-nitrogen ammonium nitrate fertilizers.
  • Covers applications in blends containing fertilizers, liming materials, soil improvers, growing media, inhibitors, and plant biostimulants, provided inorganic fertilizers are the main component.
• Analytical Methodology
  • Based on potentiometric titration of chloride ions using silver nitrate in an acidic medium.
  • Includes procedures for sampling, sample preparation, blank tests, standardization, and calculation.
  • Allows for use of automated titration as an alternative to manual titration.
• Validation and Precision
  • Methodology validated by inter-laboratory studies for a range of product compositions.
  • Includes testing for repeatability and reproducibility, critical for regulatory and quality assurance purposes.
• Reporting Requirements
  • Specifies mandatory elements for test reports, such as sample identification, test method references, results reporting, and details of sampling and testing incidents.

Applications

• Fertilizer Manufacturing
  • Provides a standardized approach to measure chloride content in ammonium nitrate fertilizers, ensuring product consistency and meeting regulatory chloride limits.
• Quality Control and Compliance
  • Enables reliable monitoring of chloride levels for manufacturing quality checks, certification, and regulatory compliance with EU fertilizer directives.
• Product Blends
  • Supports quality analysis in complex blends of fertilizers and related materials, helping to address potential interferences and matrix effects that can impact chloride determination.
• Laboratory Testing
  • Equips laboratories with a clear, validated method, fostering comparability across different operators and equipment.
• Regulatory Oversight
  • Facilitates evidence-based assessment of fertilizer products across the EU, underpinning fair trade and environmental protection efforts.

Related Standards

• EN 1482-1 and EN 1482-2: Fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors – Sampling and sample preparation.
• prEN 12944-1 & prEN 12944-2: Vocabulary and general terms related to fertilizers, liming materials, and inhibitors.
• CEN/TS 17761:2022: This technical specification is superseded by FprEN 17761, reflecting its progression to a full European standard.
• ISO 5725-1 & ISO 5725-2: Standards providing principles and methods for determining the accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility of measurement methods.

Keywords: Inorganic fertilizers, ammonium nitrate fertilizer, high nitrogen content, chloride determination, potentiometric titration, fertilizer blends, fertilizer analysis, CEN/TC 260, European standard, fertilizer quality control.

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-april-2026
Anorganska gnojila - Določanje klorida v gnojilih iz amonijevega nitrata z veliko
vsebnostjo dušika
Inorganic fertilizers - Determination of the chloride content in ammonium nitrate fertilizers
of high nitrogen content
Anorganische Düngemittel - Bestimmung des Chloridgehaltes in
Ammoniumnitratdüngemitteln mit hohem Stickstoffgehalt
Engrais inorganiques - Détermination de la teneur en chlorure des engrais à base de
nitrate d'ammonium à forte teneur en azote
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN 17761
ICS:
65.080 Gnojila Fertilizers
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

DRAFT
EUROPEAN STANDARD
prEN 17761
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
March 2026
ICS 65.080 Will supersede CEN/TS 17761:2022
English Version
Inorganic fertilizers - Determination of the chloride
content in ammonium nitrate fertilizers of high nitrogen
content
Engrais inorganiques - Détermination de la teneur en Anorganische Düngemittel - Bestimmung des
chlorure des engrais à base de nitrate d'ammonium à Chloridgehaltes in Ammoniumnitratdüngemitteln mit
forte teneur en azote hohem Stickstoffgehalt
This draft European Standard is submitted to CEN members for enquiry. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee
CEN/TC 260.
If this draft becomes a European Standard, CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations
which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.

This draft European Standard was established by CEN in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other
language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are
aware and to provide supporting documentation.

Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without
notice and shall not be referred to as a European Standard.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2026 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. prEN 17761:2026 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

prEN 17761:2026 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
1 Scope . 4
2 Normative references . 4
3 Terms and definitions . 4
4 Principle . 4
5 Reagents . 4
6 Apparatus and equipment . 5
7 Sampling and sample preparation . 5
7.1 Sampling . 5
7.2 Sample Preparation . 5
8 Procedure . 6
8.1 Standardization of the silver nitrate solution . 6
8.2 Blank test . 6
8.3 Check test . 7
8.4 Determination . 7
9 Calculation and expression of the result . 7
10 Precision . 8
10.1 Inter-laboratory study . 8
10.2 Repeatability . 8
10.3 Reproducibility . 8
11 Test report . 9
Annex A (informative) Results of the inter-laboratory study . 10
A.1 Inter-laboratory study . 10
A.2 Statistical results . 10
Bibliography . 12

prEN 17761:2026 (E)
European foreword
This document (prEN 17761:2026) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 260 “Fertilizers
and liming materials”, the secretariat of which is held by DIN.
This document is currently submitted to the CEN Enquiry.
This document will supersede CEN/TS 17761:2022.
prEN 17761:2026 includes the following significant technical changes with respect to
CEN/TS 17761:2022:
a) the CEN Technical Specification has been adopted as a European Standard;
b) update of Scope (Clause 1);
c) update of Normative references (Clause 2);
d) Sampling and sample preparation (Clause 7) has been updated;
e) the use of higher concentrated silver nitrate solution has been included;
f) the use of automated titration has been added as alternative;
g) Clause 10 (Precision) and Annex A including results of inter-laboratory study added;
h) update of Bibliography.
This document has been prepared under a standardization request addressed to CEN by the European
Commission. The Standing Committee of the EFTA States subsequently approves these requests for its
Member States.
prEN 17761:2026 (E)
1 Scope
This document specifies a method for the determination of the chloride content in ammonium nitrate
fertilizers of high nitrogen content.
This document is applicable to the fertilizing products blends where a blend is a mix of at least two of the
following components: fertilizers, liming materials, soil improvers, growing media, inhibitors, plant
biostimulants, and where the following category: inorganic fertilizers is the highest % in the blend by
mass or volume, or in the case of liquid form by dry mass. If inorganic fertilizer is not the highest % in the
blend, the European Standard for the highest % of the blend applies. In case a fertilizing product blend is
composed of components in equal quantity, the user decides which standard to apply. Variations in
analytical methods for fertilizing product blends can lead to differing results as some components or
matrix interactions can affect the outcome. Validation procedures have shown that developed standard
methods are robust and reliable across diverse product compositions, but possible interferences and
unexpected results when analysing fertilizing product blends are possible.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 1482-2, Fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors — Sampling and sample preparation — Part 2:
General sample preparation provisions
prEN 12944-1, Fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors — Vocabulary — Part 1: General terms
prEN 12944-2, Fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors — Vocabulary — Part 2: Terms relating to
fertilizers
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in prEN 12944-1 and prEN 12944-2
apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
4 Principle
Chloride ions dissolved in water are determined by potentiometric titration with silver nitrate in an acidic
medium.
5 Reagents
Use only reagents of recognized analytical grade, unless otherwise specified.
5.1 Distilled or demineralized water, free from chloride ions.
5.2 Acetone, analytical grade.
5.3 Concentrated nitric acid, density ρ = 1,40 g/ml, at 20 °C.
prEN 17761:2026 (E)
5.4 Silver nitrate stock solution, substance concentration c = 0,100 mol/l.
Store this solution in a brown glass bottle. A commercially available standard solution of at least
0,100 mol/l may be used.
5.5 Silver nitrate solution, c = 0,004 mol/l.
Prepare this solution at the time of use.
5.6 Potassium chloride (KCl), analytical grade.
5.7 Potassium chloride (KCl) stock solution, c = 0,100 mol/l.
Weigh, to the nearest 0,1 mg, 3,727 6 g of potassium chloride (5.6), previously dried for one hour in an
oven (6.2) at 130 °C and cooled in a desiccator (6.3) to ambient temperature. Add sufficient water (5.1)
in order to dissolve the potassium chloride. Transfer the solution
...