Designation: E 1916 – 97

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS

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Reprinted from the Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Copyright ASTM

Standard Guide for

Identification and/or Segregation of Mixed Lots of Metals1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation E 1916; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

1. Scope may also be suitable for identifying or segregating, or both,

1.1 This guide covers the identification or segregation, or scrap metals.
both, of mixed metal lots under plant condition using trained 4. Equipment
plant personnel.
1.2 The identification is not intended to have the accuracy 4.1 Optical Emission Spectroscopic or Spectrometric
and reliability of procedures performed in a laboratory using Equipment:
laboratory equipment under optimum conditions, and per- 4.1.1 Bench type spectroscopes generally with two sample
formed by trained chemists or technicians. The identification is tables and a split viewing field where the spectrum of the
not intended to establish whether a given piece or lot of metal unknown piece can be visually and directly compared to that of
meets specifications. a piece of identified metal.
1.3 Segregation of certain metal combinations is not always 4.1.2 Mobile spectrometric equipment with a remote sam-
possible with procedures provided in this guide and can be pling device. Two types of such units are described in 4.1.2.1
subject to errors. and 4.1.2.2.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the 4.1.2.1 Units where the particles removed by an arc or spark
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the in the remote sampling device are conveyed to the main unit in
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- a stream of inert gas and analyzed in the unit in a conventional
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica- way with an arc, spark, or plasma.
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use. 4.1.2.2 Units where the light generated from the arc or spark
at the remote sampling device is conveyed to the main unit
2. Referenced Documents with fiberoptics, where it is analyzed in the conventional way.
2.1 ASTM Standards: (a) These units generally are programmed to produce an
E 50 Practices for Apparatus, Reagents, and Safety Precau- output that: (1) shows the designation of the alloy, (2) gives the
tions for Chemical Analysis of Metals2 approximate elemental composition of the alloy, or (3) gives a
E 977 Practice for Thermoelectric Sorting of Electrically “go” or “no-go” indication based on parameters programmed
Conductive Materials3 by the operator.
2.2 Other ASTM Documents and Publications: (b) These units require careful calibration and depend on the
STP 98 Symposium for Rapid Identification of Metal, June quality and range of the reference materials used for the
28, 1949 calibration.
4.2 X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometric Equipment:
3. Significance and Use 4.2.1 The portable and mobile units are supplied with a
3.1 Equipment and procedures described in this guide are source of radiation that can be an X-ray tube or radioactive
comparative methods and are intended for identification or isotopes, generally a mixture of two or more isotopes to
segregation, or both, of pieces or lots of metals that were mixed provide a larger spectrum coverage.
or lost their identity during certain manufacturing operations. It 4.2.1.1 These units are generally programmed to produce an
is presumed that all pieces or lots of metal have been output that: (1) shows the designation of the alloy, (2) gives the
previously checked and did meet applicable specifications. approximate elemental composition of the alloy, or (3) gives a
3.2 The equipment and procedures described in this guide “go” or “no-go” indication based on parameters programmed
by the operator (see 4.1.2.2(b)).
4.3 Miscellaneous Sorting Instruments:
1
This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E-1 on Analytical 4.3.1 All instruments based on comparative methods require
Chemistry of Metals, Ores and Related Materials and is the direct responsibility of careful calibration with appropriate reference materials.
Subcommittee E01.20 on Fundamental Practices and Measurement Traceability.
Current edition approved November 10, 1997. Published June 1998. 4.3.2 Thermoelectric Comparators—Instruments are based
2
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 03.05.
3
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 03.03.

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 E 1916
on the Seeback Effect. These instruments are not for identifi- 6.4 Reference materials should also be used for chemical
cation of alloys, but for segregation of one metal alloy from spot checks. They should have a considerable surface area, and
another (See Practice E 977 and Materials Research and the surface finish should match that of the pieces to be tested.
Standards4).
4.3.3 Eddy-current Instrumentation—These instruments are 7. Hazards
not for identification of alloys, but for segregation of identical 7.1 When using grinding wheels, regardless of whether they
pieces of metal of identical shape and size based on their are used for surface preparation or for identification of metals
metallurgical condition or alloy composition under certain by spark testing, proper eye protection should be used at all
circumstances. times.
4.4 Non-Instrumental Sorting Equipment: 7.2 Manufacturer’s safety instructions regarding spectro-
4.4.1 Grinder—High speed bench or portable grindstones scopic, spectrometric, and other equipment using electric
are frequently used for rough identification and sorting of current should be carefully followed.
metals by observation of the shape and color of the generated 7.2.1 Proper grounding is especially important for electrical
spark. equipment used under plant conditions.
4.4.2 Drill Press—for identification of drill cuttings by 7.2.2 Wet floor conditions should be considered.
comparison to a master set. 7.3 Reagents involved in spot tests can be highly reactive,
4.4.3 Magnet—for separation of magnetic and non- and proper hand and eye protection shall be provided and used.
magnetic alloys. 7.3.1 In case of commercially sold spot test solutions, the
4.4.4 Laboratory Equipment for Chemical Spot reagents are not identified by the chemical name and concen-
Checks—As required, generally eye-droppers, small reagent tration in many cases. The MSDS’s that came with the reagents
bottles, spot plates, etc., are used. All of the laboratory should be carefully studied, and safety precautions followed.
equipment used, such as plastic bottles, eye-droppers, etc., 7.3.2 A special warning shall be given for HF and solutions
shall be unbreakable. containing fluorides. Safety precautions (Practices E 50)
should be followed.
5. Reagents
8. Procedure
5.1 Chemical Reagents are required if chemical spot checks
are used in the identification of metal alloys, or for segregation 8.1 Actual identification and sorting procedures will depend
of one alloy or one alloy group from another alloy or alloy on the instrument used in the case of spectroscopic, spectro-
group. The list and makeup of the reagents is given in metric, thermoelectric, or eddy-current methods, or the chemi-
procedures used. (Several procedures are provided in the ASM cal reactions involved in the chemical spotchecks.
Metals Handbook,5 the Spot Tests in Inorganic Analysis,6 STP 8.2 Carefully follow instructions for instrumental and non-
98,7 and Materials Research and Standards4). instrumental sorting and carefully and thoroughly train em-
5.2 There are several Spot-test kits on the market that ployees using the procedures in the proper use of the equip-
supply the necessary reagents.8 In most cases the reagents are ment.
identified only as Solution #1, Solution #2, etc. 8.2.1 Consider equipment limitations at all times, and do not
exceed limitations.
6. Reference Materials 8.3 In the case of instruments where the readout is in the
6.1 Where the equipment or the procedure requires calibra- form of an alloy name or code, carefully check the calibration
tion, the reference materials used should be reliable and with several reference materials for each alloy. The reference
appropriate to their usage. materials used for the calibration should not be used for this
6.2 No reference material should be used that was identified check.
or analyzed on the same piece or type of equipment it is 8.4 Run reference materials at frequent intervals during all
intended to calibrate. identification and segregation operations.
6.3 Reference materials used for X-ray fluorescence, ther- 8.5 The surface of the reference materials and samples
moelectric, or eddy-current instruments should not only have should be free from contamination, including oxidation, to give
the appropriate chemical composition, but also have appropri- interference free results. Surface preparation using a grinder is
ate metallurgical properties. often required.
6.3.1 Where the reference materials are to be used to 8.6 Surface preparation using grinders can considerably
calibrate instruments based on eddy-current, the size and shape alter the results of chemical spot checks because of the
of the reference sample should be identical in size, shape, and increased surface area caused by the grooves caused by the
of the test pieces. grinder and the increased speed of the chemical reaction due to
increased temperature caused by the grinding operation. If the
surface of the samples is ground, the surface of the reference
4
Materials Research and Standards, 10(11), November 1970, pp. 8-18. materials should be ground at the same time.
5
ASM Metals Handbook, Vol 11, 8th Edition, available from ASM International, 8.7 The identification can range from a small percentage to
Materials Park, OH 44073-0002.
6
100 %, depending on several factors, such as:
Fiegel, F., Spot Tests in Inorganic Analysis, 5th Ed., Elsevier Science, 655
Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010.
8.7.1 The end use of the material,
7
STP 98, Symposium for Rapid Identification of Metal, June 28, 1949. 8.7.2 Agreement between buyer and seller if the material is
8
Spot-test kits are available from Koslow Scientific Co., Edgewater, NJ 07020. being sold,
2

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 E 1916
8.7.3 The type of alloy contamination, and 9.2 If a report is issued, it should clearly state the type of
8.7.4 Value of the material. identification or segregation operation the report is based on. It
8.8 If compliance to a specification of the segregated also should state that this is not a laboratory report.
material is required, sampling and quantitative testing and 9.3 If certification to a certain specification is required,
certification of the segregated lot has to be performed indepen- separate sampling and quantitative testing has to be performed
dently of procedures performed in accordance with this guide. as stated in 8.8.
8.9 When segregation of materials is performed, identified
and segregated material should be appropriately marked and
10. Keywords
preferably placed in identified containers.
10.1 chemical spot test; eddy-current; identification; segre-
9. Report gation; sorting; spectrometry; spectroscopy; thermoelectric
9.1 Usually no laboratory type reports are issued for iden-
tification or segregation, or both, of mixed metal lots.

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with any item mentioned in this standard. Users of this standard are expressly advised that determination of the validity of any such
patent rights, and the risk of infringement of such rights, are entirely their own responsibility.

This standard is subject to revision at any time by the responsible technical committee and must be reviewed every five years and
if not revised, either reapproved or withdrawn. Your comments are invited either for revision of this standard or for additional standards
and should be addressed to ASTM Headquarters. Your comments will receive careful consideration at a meeting of the responsible
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views known to the ASTM Committee on Standards, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428.

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