FprEN 15960

• Abstract:

  This document specifies a method applicable to inorganic fertilizers for the extraction with diluted mineral acid of total calcium, total magnesium and total sodium and for the extraction of total sulfur present in the form of sulfates, so that the same extract can be used for the determination of each nutrient required.; NOTE In case of inorganic fertilizers, the term "total" refers to secondary nutrients extractable in diluted mineral acid.

• Status: Not Published
• Publication Date: 13-Jan-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: 5020 - Submission to Vote - Formal Approval
• Start Date: 24-Sep-2026
• Due Date: 12-Mar-2027
• Completion Date: 24-Sep-2026
• Directive: 2019/1009 - 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: kSIST FprEN 15960:2026 - Inorganic fertilizers - Extraction of total calcium, total magnesium, total sodium and total sulfur in the forms of sulfates

• Revises: EN 15960:2011 - Fertilizers - Extraction of total calcium, total magnesium, total sodium and total sulfur in the forms of sulfates
• Effective Date: 02-Apr-2025

FprEN 15960 is a draft European Standard from CEN for inorganic fertilizers. It specifies a laboratory method for extracting total calcium, total magnesium, total sodium, and total sulfur in the form of sulfates, using diluted mineral acid so the same extract can be used for later determination of each nutrient. Laboratories, fertilizer producers, and quality control teams use it when they need a common extraction step for secondary nutrient analysis.

What does FprEN 15960 specify?

FprEN 15960 specifies one extraction method for inorganic fertilizers and the way the extracted solution is prepared for analysis. The document is organized into clauses on scope, normative references, terms and definitions, principle, sampling and sample preparation, reagents, apparatus, procedure, and test report, followed by a bibliography.

The scope is narrow and practical: it covers extraction of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and sulfur present as sulfates, and it states that the same extract may be used to determine each nutrient required. Sampling is outside the method itself, while sample preparation is part of the document through a referenced procedure.

What are the key requirements of FprEN 15960?

Principle

FprEN 15960 uses boiling in diluted hydrochloric acid to extract the relevant nutrients from the fertilizer. In practice, this means the analyst prepares one acidic extract rather than separate preparations for each element.

Sampling and sample preparation

FprEN 15960 says the laboratory should receive a representative sample that has not been altered during transport or storage, and sample preparation follows EN 1482-2. It also recommends grinding the laboratory sample for homogeneity, which helps avoid uneven results from coarse or mixed material.

Reagents

FprEN 15960 requires recognized analytical-grade reagents and distilled or demineralized water. The water must have an electrical conductivity below 0.5 mS/m at 25 °C, and the diluted hydrochloric acid is prepared by mixing one volume of hydrochloric acid, 37 %, with one volume of water. In practice, reagent quality matters because contamination can affect trace nutrient extraction.

Apparatus

FprEN 15960 calls for standard laboratory equipment, an electric hot plate with adjustable temperature, a 600 mL beaker, a 500 mL graduated flask, and dry low-magnesium-content filter paper of medium porosity and filtration rate. These items support controlled heating, accurate dilution, and clean filtration of the extract.

Test portion and extraction

FprEN 15960 normally uses a 5 g test portion weighed to the nearest 1 mg. When the fertilizer contains more than 15 % sulfur or more than 18.8 % calcium, the document changes the test portion to 1 g for calcium and sulfur extraction, which helps keep the procedure manageable for richer materials.

Extraction steps

FprEN 15960 requires about 400 mL of water and, where the sample contains significant carbonates, 50 mL of diluted hydrochloric acid added gradually. The mixture is covered with a watch glass, brought to the boil, maintained for 30 min, cooled with occasional stirring, quantitatively transferred to volume, and filtered. The extract must be completely transparent, and the filtrate is stoppered if it is not used immediately.

Test report

FprEN 15960 requires the test report to identify the sample, state the method and publication year, record the sampling date and procedure if known, note when extraction finished, and list any optional details or incidents that could affect the result. This gives traceability for comparison between laboratories and later review.

What terms does FprEN 15960 define?

FprEN 15960 uses the terms and definitions from EN 12944-1 and EN 12944-2. The most important terms for this method are:

• Inorganic fertilizers - the product group to which the extraction method applies.
• Total calcium / total magnesium / total sodium - secondary nutrients that are extractable in diluted mineral acid.
• Total sulfur in the form of sulfates - sulfur measured through the sulfate fraction extracted by the method.
• Laboratory sample - the sample prepared for the extraction work in the laboratory.
• Test portion - the weighed amount of sample taken for one extraction.
• Extract - the liquid obtained after boiling, dilution, and filtration for later determination of the nutrients.

Who uses FprEN 15960?

FprEN 15960 is used by fertilizer testing laboratories, quality control staff, product developers, and buyers who specify analytical control for inorganic fertilizers. It is relevant to anyone who needs reproducible extraction of secondary nutrients before instrumental or wet-chemical determination. It also supports sampling and reporting work where results must be comparable across sites or suppliers.

What changed in FprEN 15960 from the previous edition?

FprEN 15960 will supersede EN 15960:2011. The document states three significant technical changes: characteristics of distilled water were added, coverage with a watch glass was added in 8.2, and the reference to Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 was removed.

Which standards are used with FprEN 15960?

• EN 1482-2 - provides the general provisions for sample preparation.
• EN 12944-1 - supplies general fertilizer and liming material terms.
• EN 12944-2 - supplies fertilizer-specific vocabulary used in this document.
• EN 1482-1 - is cited as the recommended sampling method in the bibliography and supports representative sampling before the extraction.

What does the FprEN 15960 document contain?

FprEN 15960 contains a single extraction procedure, the required reagents and apparatus, and a short reporting section. Clause 8 gives the practical laboratory steps from weighing the sample through boiling, cooling, making up to volume, and filtering the extract. Clause 9 defines what information must be recorded so the result can be traced back to the sample and the exact execution of the method.

The document is focused on preparation of one clean, transparent extract for later determination of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and sulfur as sulfates. It is therefore mainly a sample-preparation standard for laboratory analysis, not a measurement standard for the final nutrient values.

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
oSIST prEN 15960:2026
01-februar-2026
Anorganska gnojila - Ekstrakcija celotnega kalcija, magnezija, natrija in celotnega
žvepla v obliki sulfata
Inorganic fertilizers - Extraction of total calcium, total magnesium, total sodium and total
sulfur in the forms of sulfates
Anorganische Düngemittel - Extraktion von Gesamtcalcium, Gesamtmagnesium und
Gesamtnatrium sowie von Gesamtschwefel in Form von Sulfat
Engrais inorganiques - Extraction du calcium total, du magnésium total, du sodium total
et du soufre total présent sous forme de sulfate
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN 15960
ICS:
65.080 Gnojila Fertilizers
oSIST prEN 15960:2026 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

oSIST prEN 15960:2026
oSIST prEN 15960:2026
DRAFT
EUROPEAN STANDARD
prEN 15960
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
December 2025
ICS 65.080 Will supersede EN 15960:2011
English Version
Inorganic fertilizers - Extraction of total calcium, total
magnesium, total sodium and total sulfur in the forms of
sulfates
Engrais inorganiques - Extraction du calcium total, du Anorganische Düngemittel - Extraktion von
magnésium total, du sodium total et du soufre total Gesamtcalcium, Gesamtmagnesium und
présent sous forme de sulfate Gesamtnatrium sowie von Gesamtschwefel in Form
von Sulfat
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
© 2025 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. prEN 15960:2025 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

oSIST prEN 15960:2026
prEN 15960:2025 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
1 Scope . 4
2 Normative references . 4
3 Terms and definitions . 4
4 Principle . 4
5 Sampling and sample preparation . 4
6 Reagents . 4
7 Apparatus . 5
8 Procedure . 5
8.1 Test portion . 5
8.2 Extraction . 5
9 Test report . 5
Bibliography . 6

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