Overview
ISO 22167:2021 specifies a standardized laboratory method for the determination of volatile matter in solid recovered fuels (SRF). The standard defines requirements for sampling, apparatus, test procedure and calculation to quantify volatile matter as the mass loss (after moisture correction) when a prepared SRF test portion is heated under controlled, anoxic conditions. The method is empirical and intended to ensure reproducible results across laboratories, producers, suppliers and regulatory bodies.
Key topics and requirements
- Test principle: volatile matter is the percentage mass lost from a dried test portion when heated in a reduced atmosphere; moisture is determined concurrently so volatile results are corrected for moisture loss.
- Heating conditions: reference method heats the sample at (900 ± 10) °C for 7 minutes; strict control of heating rate, final temperature and test duration is essential.
- Atmosphere control: air must be excluded (anoxic conditions) to avoid oxidation during heating.
- Apparatus specifications:
- Furnace: electrically heated, temperature stability and rapid recovery (temperature regained within about 4 min after inserting cold crucible/stand); flue and valve details described for airflow control.
- Thermocouple: unsheathed wire ≤ 1 mm recommended; placement and frequent correlation with any sheathed, permanent thermocouple required.
- Crucible & lid: fused silica, porcelain or equivalent; typical mass 10–14 g and matched lid clearance ≤ 0.5 mm.
- Crucible stand: single or multi-position stands specified to ensure correct heating rate.
- Balance: readability to nearest 0.1 mg.
- Automatic equipment: thermogravimetric analysers and automated systems may be used if validated by parallel testing to the reference method and meeting sample size, atmosphere and weighing accuracy requirements.
- Calculation & reporting: includes cases for samples with removed coarse inert materials ("removed ash contributors"), precision limits (repeatability/reproducibility) and required test report content.
- Supplementary information: Annexes include interlaboratory results and environmental aspects.
Applications - who uses it and why
- Laboratories performing routine quality control, compliance testing or research on SRF.
- SRF producers and suppliers to characterize fuel quality, support contractual specifications and optimize fuel blending or processing.
- Purchasers / end-users (e.g., cement kilns, power plants, waste-to-energy operators) to verify feedstock volatile content for combustion performance and emissions planning.
- Regulators and inspection bodies for enforcing classification, reporting and environmental compliance.
- Equipment vendors validating thermogravimetric or automated analysers against the reference procedure.
Related standards
- ISO 21637 (vocabulary for SRF)
- ISO 21645 / ISO 21646 (sampling and sample preparation for SRF)
- ISO 21660‑3 (moisture determination - oven dry method)
- EN 15402 and ISO 562 (historical and methodological bases referenced in the introduction)
Keywords: ISO 22167:2021, volatile matter determination, solid recovered fuels, SRF testing, thermogravimetric analysis, furnace method, laboratory standard.