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My customer wants to know if the zinc I use meets EN 1179. What is this?

EN 1179 Zinc and Zinc alloys Primary Zinc, is a standard published by the European Committee for Standardization or CEN. The standard …specifies the classification, chemical composition, marking and other requirements for primary zinc. It has been adopted by other European standardization organizations such as British Standards (BSI). While North American galvanizers may be unfamiliar with this standard because of its infrequent use in the region, they will be familiar with ASTM B6 Standard Specification for Zinc. Both standards cover the requirements for zinc that may be used in the galvanizing process but do not cover secondary zinc produced through remelting. Each standard contains five grades of primary zinc (prime western, special high grade, etc.). Each grade has a corresponding color code that relates strongly to the two standards.

Once we know what is covered in EN 1179, the new question becomes: If the zinc I use meets one of the classifications in ASTM B6, does it also meet EN 1179? The two standards are nearly identical, however, there are a few subtle differences in chemical composition requirements between the two standards. The chart below shows which zinc grade in EN 1179 corresponds to which zinc grade in ASTM B6. It also summarizes the varying requirements of the two grades in the final column.

So does zinc that meets the requirements of one of these standards meet the corresponding grade of the other standard? The answer is: most likely. However, it will take a little bit of digging through both tables (shown below) and a look at the summarizing chart to deal with each case specifically.

COMPARISON OF EN 1179 AND ASTM B6

Color CodeEN 1179 ClassificationASTM B6 ClassificationDifferences
WhiteZ1LME GradeNone
YellowZ2Special High-Grade

ASTM B6 max Lead: 0.003%

EN 1179 max Lead: 0.005%

EN 1179 has no limit on Aluminum
GreenZ3High Grade

ASTM B6 max Cadmium: 0.01%

EN 1179 max Cadmium: 0.005%

EN 1179 has no limit on Aluminum
BlueZ4Intermediate Grade

ASTM B6 max Cadmium: 0.01%

EN 1179 max Cadmium: 0.005%

EN 1179 has no limit on Aluminum

EN 1179 has no limit on Copper
BlackZ5Prime Western Grade

ASTM B6 max Cadmium: 0.20%

EN 1179 max Cadmium: 0.005%

EN 1179 has no limit on Aluminum

EN 1179 has no limit on Copper

TABLE 1 OF ASTM B6- CHEMICAL REQUIREMENTS

Composition %
GradeColor CodeLeadIron MaxCadmium MaxAluminum MaxCopper MaxTin MaxTotal Non-Zinc MaxZinc, min by difference
LME GradeWhite0.003 max0.0020.0030.0010.0010.0010.00599.995
Special High GradeYellow0.003 max0.0030.0030.0020.0020.0010.0199.990
High GradeGreen0.03 max0.020.010.010.0020.0010.0299.95
Intermediate GradeBlue0.45 max0.050.010.010.20-0.599.5
Prime Western GradeBlack0.05 - 1.40.050.010.010.10-1.5

98.5

TABLE 1 OF EN 1179- CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF PRIMARY ZINC

Grade classifi-cation Color Code
Composition in % (mass fraction)
Nominal Zinc Content 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total of elements
in columns
1 to 6
Pb
max
Cd
max
Fe
max
Sn
max
Cu
max
Al
max
Z1 White 99,995 0,003 0,003 0,002 0,001 0,001 0,001 0,005
Z2 Yellow 99,99 0,005 0,003 0,003 0,001 0,002 - 0,01
Z3 Green 99,95 0,03 0,005 0,02 0,001 0,002 - 0,05
Z4 Blue 99,5 0,45 0,005 0,05 - - - 0,5
Z5 Black 98,5 1,4 0,005 0,05 - - - 1,5

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