SLOVENSKI STANDARD

SIST EN 15344:2021
01-julij-2021

Nadomešča:
SIST EN 15344:2008

Polimerni materiali - Reciklirani polimerni materiali - Karakterizacija recikliranega

polietilena (PE)

Plastics - Recycled plastics - Characterisation of Polyethylene (PE) recyclates

Kunststoffe - Kunststoff-Rezyklate - Charakterisierung von Polyethylen (PE)-Rezyklaten

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Plastiques - Plastiques recyclés(standards.iteh.ai)
- Caractérisation des recyclats de polyéthylène (PE)

SIST EN 15344:2021
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 15344:2021
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6954353c9a05/sist-en-15344-2021

ICS:
13.030.50 Recikliranje Recycling
83.080.20 Plastomeri Thermoplastic materials

SIST EN 15344:2021 en,fr,de

2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.
 SIST EN 15344:2021

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(standards.iteh.ai)
SIST EN 15344:2021
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 SIST EN 15344:2021

EUROPEAN STANDARD EN 15344

NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM May 2021

ICS 13.030.50; 83.080.20 Supersedes EN 15344:2007

English Version

Plastics - Recycled plastics - Characterization of

Polyethylene (PE) recyclates
Plastiques - Plastiques recyclés - Caractérisation des Kunststoffe - Kunststoff-Rezyklate - Charakterisierung
recyclats de polyéthylène (PE) von Polyethylen(PE)-Rezyklaten

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 12 April 2021.

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. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.

This European Standard exists 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
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Centre has the same status as the official versions.

(standards.iteh.ai)
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, Turkey and
United Kingdom.
SIST EN 15344:2021
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6954353c9a05/sist-en-15344-2021

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION

COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels

© 2021 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 15344:2021 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.
 SIST EN 15344:2021

EN 15344:2021 (E)

Contents Page

European foreword ............................................................................................................................................ 3

Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 4
1 Scope.......................................................................................................................................................... 5
2 Normative references.......................................................................................................................... 5
3 Terms and definitions ......................................................................................................................... 6
4 Symbols and abbreviations ............................................................................................................... 6
5 Characterization of PE recyclates ................................................................................................... 6
6 Quality assurance ................................................................................................................................. 9
Annex A (informative) Method for the determination of contaminants ........................................ 10
A.1 General.................................................................................................................................................... 10
A.2 Principle ................................................................................................................................................. 10
A.3 Apparatus .............................................................................................................................................. 10
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A.4 Procedure .............................................................................................................................................. 11
A.5
(standards.iteh.ai)
Expression of results ......................................................................................................................... 12
A.6 Test report.............................................................................................................................................
SIST EN 15344:2021 12
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Annex B (normative) Test Method for 6954353c9a05/sist-en-15344-2021
the determination of bulk density ................................... 13
B.1 Scope........................................................................................................................................................ 13
B.2 Material .................................................................................................................................................. 13
B.3 Apparatus .............................................................................................................................................. 14
B.4 Preparation of test sample .............................................................................................................. 14
B.5 Procedure .............................................................................................................................................. 14
B.6 Expression of results ......................................................................................................................... 14
B.7 Test report............................................................................................................................................. 14
Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................................... 16

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EN 15344:2021 (E)

European foreword

This document (EN 15344:2021) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 249 “Plastics”, the
secretariat of which is held by NBN.

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by November 2021, and conflicting national standards shall
be withdrawn at the latest by November 2021.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document supersedes EN 15344:2007.

In comparison with the previous edition, the following technical modifications have been made:

— Clause 4 “Symbols and abbreviations” has been added;

— in Table 1 several changes have been introduced: in column “Characteristics” the new line “Presence
of polypropylene/ foreign polymers” has been added; column “M/O” has been added; key has been
added to explain M/O: “M/O: The characteristics is mandatory (M) or optional (O)”; in line
“Contaminates”, column “Test method” reference to method D has been added;

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— in A.2 “Principle”, a reference for “stable production” is given in the last line;

— (standards.iteh.ai)
in A.3 “Apparatus”, A.3.4 “Method D” has been added.

This document is part of a series on Plastics SIST EN 15344:2021

Recycling which is structured as follows:
https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/sist/faf6aff7-a086-4857-bb4d-
— EN 15342, Plastics — Recycled6954353c9a05/sist-en-15344-2021
Plastics — Characterization of polystyrene (PS) recyclates;

— EN 15343, Plastics — Recycled Plastics — Plastics recycling traceability and assessment of conformity
and recycled content;

— EN 15344, Plastics — Recycled plastics — Characterization of Polyethylene (PE) recyclates;

— EN 15345, Plastics — Recycled Plastics — Characterization of Polypropylene (PP) recyclates;

— EN 15346, Plastics — Recycled plastics — Characterization of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) recyclates;

— EN 15347, Plastics — Recycled Plastics — Characterization of plastics wastes;

— EN 15348, Plastics — Recycled plastics — Characterization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)

recyclates;

— CEN/TR 15353, Plastics — Recycled plastics — Guidelines for the development of standards for
recycled plastics.

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: 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, Turkey and the United
Kingdom.

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EN 15344:2021 (E)

Introduction

Recycling plastics waste, by mechanical recycling, is one type of material recovery process intended to
save resources (virgin raw materials, water, and energy), while minimizing harmful emissions into air,
water and soil as well as any impacts on human health. The environmental impact of recycling has to be
assessed over the whole life cycle of the recycling system (from the waste generation point to the disposal
of final residues). To ensure that recycling constitutes the best environmental option for treating the
available waste, some prerequisites should preferably be met:
— recycling scheme being contemplated should generate lower environmental impacts than alternative
recovery options;

— existing or potential market outlets should be identified that will secure a sustainable industrial
recycling operation;

— collection and sorting schemes should be properly designed to deliver recyclable plastics waste
fractions fitting reasonably well with the available recycling technologies and with the (changing)
needs of the identified market outlets, preferably at minimum costs to society.

This document has been produced in accordance with the guidance produced by CEN on Environmental
Aspects and in accordance with CEN/TR 15353, Plastics — Recycled plastics — Guidelines for the
development of standards for recycled plastics.
NOTE CEN/TR 15353 considers the general environmental aspects which are specific to the recycling process.
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It is often impossible to trace back each individual product at the end user stage and to check whether
(standards.iteh.ai)
the product has been used correctly through its life. Consequently, products are out of industrial control
for a period of time. It is possible that during this period contamination with other materials may occur
SIST EN 15344:2021
that could affect the product's suitability for recycling into the intended application.
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EN 15344:2021 (E)

1 Scope
This document defines a method of specifying delivery conditions for polyethylene (PE) recyclates.
It gives the most important characteristics and associated test methods for assessing PE recyclates
intended for use in the production of semi-finished/finished products.
It is intended to support parties involved in the use of polyethylene (PE) recyclates obtained by
mechanical recycling to agree on specifications for specific and generic applications.
This document is applicable without prejudice to any existing legislation.
This document does not cover the characterization of plastics wastes (see EN 15347).

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 12099, Plastics piping systems — Polyethylene piping materials and components — Determination of
volatile content

EN 15343, Plastics — Recycled Plastics — Plastics recycling traceability and assessment of conformity and
recycled content
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EN ISO 60, Plastics — Determination of apparent density of material that can be poured from a specified
funnel (ISO 60) (standards.iteh.ai)
EN ISO 179-1, Plastics — DeterminationSIST of Charpy impact properties — Part 1: Non-instrumented impact
EN 15344:2021
test (ISO 179-1) https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/sist/faf6aff7-a086-4857-bb4d-
6954353c9a05/sist-en-15344-2021
EN ISO 180, Plastics — Determination of Izod impact strength (ISO 180)

EN ISO 472, Plastics — Vocabulary (ISO 472)

EN ISO 527-1, Plastics — Determination of tensile properties — Part 1: General principles (ISO 527-1)

EN ISO 527-2, Plastics — Determination of tensile properties — Part 2: Test conditions for moulding and
extrusion plastics (ISO 527-2)

EN ISO 527-3, Plastics — Determination of tensile properties — Part 3: Test conditions for films and sheets
(ISO 527-3)

EN ISO 1043-1, Plastics — Symbols and abbreviated terms — Part 1: Basic polymers and their special
characteristics (ISO 1043-1)

EN ISO 1133 (all parts), Plastics — Determination of the melt mass-flow rate (MFR) and melt volume-flow
rate (MVR) of thermoplastics (ISO 1133)

EN ISO 1183-1, Plastics — Methods for determining the density of non-cellular plastics — Part 1: Immersion
method, liquid pycnometer method and titration method (ISO 1183-1)

EN ISO 3451-1, Plastics — Determination of ash — Part 1: General methods (ISO 3451-1)

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EN 15344:2021 (E)

EN ISO 7765-1, Plastics film and sheeting — Determination of impact resistance by the free-falling dart
method — Part 1: Staircase methods (ISO 7765-1)

EN ISO 11357-1, Plastics — Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) — Part 1: General principles
(ISO 11357-1)

ISO 11357-3, Plastics — Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) — Part 3: Determination of temperature
and enthalpy of melting and crystallization

ISO 13468-1, Plastics — Determination of the total luminous transmittance of transparent materials —
Part 1: Single-beam instrument

ISO 18314-1, Analytical colorimetry — Part 1: Practical colour measurement

ISO 22498, Plastics — Vinyl chloride homopolymer and copolymer resins — Particle size determination by
mechanical sieving

CEN/TR 15353, Plastics — Recycled plastics — Guidelines for the development of standards for recycled
plastics

3 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in EN ISO 472 and CEN/TR 15353
apply. iTeh STANDARD PREVIEW
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
(standards.iteh.ai)
• IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
SIST EN 15344:2021
• ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
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4 Symbols and abbreviations
For the purposes of this document, the symbols and abbreviations related to recyclates are given in
EN ISO 1043-1.

5 Characterization of PE recyclates
A single batch is the quantity of PE recyclate that has homogeneous characteristics within the specified
tolerances.
PE (REC) (see EN ISO 1043-1) is composed of:
— polymeric matrix, consisting of polyethylene (PE content);

— fillers, pigments and additives;

— impurities or contamination in a quantity which do not compromise the workability characteristics

of PE (R);

— polymers compatible with the polymeric matrix.

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EN 15344:2021 (E)

The characteristics of PE recyclates, which shall be determined for every batch (see ISO 3534-2) of
recyclate, are given in Table 1, and are divided into two types:
a) required characteristics, needed to define PE recyclates in general, and required for all recyclates;

b) optional characteristics needed to define PE recyclates according to customer specifications and

applications.

NOTE Polyethylene plastics waste originates from different types or grades of PE containing additives to
modify characteristics. Polyethylene is generally classified as PE-HD (high density polyethylene), PE-LD (low
density polyethylene), PE-LLD (linear low density polyethylene) and others of less common use. The properties and
performance of recyclates derived from such wastes can depend on the type or relative proportions of blends of PE,
but it is not in the scope of this document to investigate such relations.

These characteristics shall be assessed by using the test methods given in Table 1. Where possible, the
supplier should provide information on the original applications.
A certificate of analysis giving the test results for each batch of recyclate shall be provided by the supplier
to the purchaser upon request.
To secure the legal use of the recyclate, the supplier shall provide the necessary information about the
material composition of the recyclate, as specified by the purchaser.
Table 1 — Characterization of PE recyclates

Characteristics Unit Tests method Comments M/O

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Bulk density kg/m Annex B or
3 Test may be used for powder or O
(standards.iteh.ai)
EN ISO 60 granulates.
ASTM D 1895 may be used for
SIST EN 15344:2021 powder.
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6954353c9a05/sist-en-15344-2021Any alternative method may be
used upon common approval
with the customer through a
specification
Colour Visual inspection O
ISO 18314-1
Transparency % ISO 13468-1 Test may be carried out on a O
sheet with a thickness of 200 µm,
made by compression of
granules.
Any alternative method may be
used upon common approval
with the customer through a
specification
Particle size mm ISO 22498 a For powder used for O
rotomoulding (particle size
distribution also required).
For flakes or regrind,
EN 15348:2014, Annex A and
EN 15346:2014, Annex E may be
used.
ASTM D 1921 may also be used.

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EN 15344:2021 (E)

Characteristics Unit Tests method Comments M/O

Melt mass flow g/10 EN ISO 1133 (all parts) M

rate (MFR) min

Shape Visual inspection Typical shape are pellets, flakes, M

regrind, powder and
agglomerates
LDPE content % ISO 11357-3 M
Presence of Usable techniques of infrared Presence/ no presence O
polypropylene/ spectrometry (FTIR-IR) or
foreign DSC c
polymers
Ash content % EN ISO 3451-1 With this method, any organic O
pigments are destroyed
Density kg/m3 EN ISO 1183-1 Pycnometer, parties to agree on M
method A or B
Contaminants number Annex A Parties to agree on which method O
Method A, B, C or D
Filtration level µm
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mesh size Indicate the opening of the finest M
(standards.iteh.ai)
filter. Alternatively, dimension of
net passage.
Izod impact EN ISO 180 SIST EN 15344:2021 Temperature conditions agreed O
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strength or EN ISO 179-1 between the interested parties
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Charpy impact Any alternative method may be
EN ISO 7765-1
strength or used upon common approval
Drop Dart with the customer through a
impact specification

Residual % EN 12099 b Weight loss, 105 °C O

humidity Any alternative method may be
used upon common approval
with the customer through a
specification
Tensile stress MPa EN ISO 527-1 Test speed and temperature O
at yield EN ISO 527-2 conditions agreed between the
interested parties
EN ISO 527-3
Test specimen 1 A
Tensile strain % EN ISO 527-1 Test speed and temperature O
at break EN ISO 527-2 conditions agreed between the
interested parties
EN ISO 527-3
Test specimen 1 A
Key
M/O: The characteristic is mandatory (M) or optional (O)