CEN/TC 276/WG 2 - Methods of test

This European Standard specifies a method of preparing water of known calcium and magnesium hardness for use in testing surface active agents and products containing them.

This European Standard specifies a method for the determination of the effectiveness of surface active agents to create and to stabilize a dispersion of pigment powder in water. It is applicable to all classes of surface active agents and formulations of surface active agents. The method can also be applied analogously to other powders.

This document specifies methods for the determination of the cloud point of solutions of non-ionic surface active agents obtained by the reaction of ethylene oxide with a hydrophobic base molecule.
This document primarily applies to surfactants obtained by reaction of ethylene oxide with hydrophobic base molecules, such as fatty alcohols, fatty acids, long-chain alkylphenols, fatty amines, fatty acid esters of sugar derivatives among other ethoxylated non-ionic surfactants, which are by far the most commonly used.
NOTE   Other non-ionic surfactants containing other structural units, such as propylene oxide-ethylene oxide block copolymers, have distinctive behaviours that make the determination of the cloud point more difficult. This leads sometimes to a gradual turbidity over a temperature range of several degrees or even to the occurrence of two cloud points at significantly different temperatures.

This European Standard specifies a method for the determination of physical stability of surface active agents in alkaline and acid solutions. It is applicable to all classes of surface active agents and also to other substances or mixtures such as polymers, complexing agents and formulations of surface active agents.

This document specifies test methods for the determination of surface tension of liquids, particularly surface active agent solutions.
The methods are suitable for determining the static surface tension of liquids, for example inorganic and organic liquids and solutions.

This document specifies a method for the determination of foamability and degree of foamability of surface active agents by means of a circulation equipment, whereby the solution of the surface active agent is under fast circulation.
The method is applicable to many surface active agents, especially for low and medium foaming surface active agents and products containing surface active agents.

This European Standard specifies test methods for the determination of interfacial tension in the range from 4 mN/m to 50 mN/m between two immiscible liquids which can also be free from surface active agents.
It is particularly suitable for determining the interfacial tension between water or aqueous solutions and organic liquids which are immiscible with water.

This European Standard specifies a method for the determination of pH value of solutions or dispersions of surface active agents and gives a method for their preparation.
The method is applicable to aqueous solutions containing anionic, cationic and non-ionic surface active agents, ampholytic surface active agents and products in solution containing surface active agents.

This European Standard specifies a method for the determination of the solubility of ionic surface active agents in water as a function of concentration and temperature and for the determination of the Krafft point by graphical evaluation of the measurement results.
In the temperature range from 0 °C to 90 °C, the solubility is determined without any limitations if the viscosity of the solution does not exceed about 700 mPas.
At temperatures below 0 °C, determination is only possible if the solvent does not freeze.
The method is applicable both to pure surface active agents and to technical products optically clear and not unduly coloured solutions.
The solubility both of solid and liquid surface active agents and of aqueous solutions of surface active agents is determined by the method specified.

This European Standard specifies a method for measuring the foaming power of a surface active agent and the antifoaming power of a defoamer with regard to a foaming solution.
The method is applicable to all surface active agents and particularly to low foaming products and antifoaming surface active agents.
However, measurement of the foaming power of solutions of readily hydrolyzable agents does not give valid results, as the hydrolysis products gather in the films of liquid and affect the persistence of the foam.

This European Standard specifies the determination of the water number of ethoxylated products up to about 70 % ethylene oxide. EO/PO block polymers with water numbers higher than about 23 become hard to interpret.
NOTE   The values obtained by this method are not completely identical with the water number obtained in dioxane, in particular water numbers higher than 23.

This European Standard specifies a test method for the determination of foaming power of surface active agents diluted in water with different degree of calcium hardness and a content of surface active agent less than or equal to 1 % (m/m).

This European Standard specifies a method for determining the wetting power of a surface active agent in solution by immersion of a disc of raw cotton cloth in the solution. The method is applicable to all surface active agents, whatever their ionic character, used as wetting agents in neutral, slightly acid or slightly basic baths for textile applications. The method is not applicable to mercerizing agents (baths highly basic) or to carbonizing assistants (baths highly acid).

This European Standard specifies a method of assessing the stability in hard water of surface active agents which are readily soluble at ambient temperature or slightly higher temperatures. This method is applicable to surface active agents soluble in water at 20 °C. It can be extended to those which are soluble at approximately 50 °C.

This European Standard specifies a method of preparing water of known calcium hardness for use in testing surface active agents and products containing them.

This European Standard specifies methods for the determination of the cloud point of solutions of non-ionic surface active agents obtained by the reaction of ethylene oxide with a hydrophobic base molecule. This standard primarily applies to surfactants obtained by reaction of ethylene oxide with hydrophobic base molecules, such as fatty alcohols, fatty acids, long-chain alkylphenols, fatty amines, fatty acid esters of sugar derivatives among other ethoxylated non-ionic surfactants, which are by far the most commonly used.

This European Prestandard specifies the determination of the water number of ethoxylated products up to about 70% ethylene oxide. EO/PO block polymers with water numbers higher than about 23 become hard to interpret. NOTE: The values obtained by this method are not completely identical with the water number obtained in dioxane, in particular water numbers higher than 23.