OECD 115 OECD Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals, Standard Test for Surface Tension of Aqueous Solutions

EUROLAB laboratory provides testing and compliance service within the scope of OECD 115 standard. The OECD Guidelines for testing chemicals are a collection of approximately 150 of the most relevant internationally recognized test methods used by government, industry and independent laboratories to identify and characterize the potential hazards of chemicals.

They are a set of tools for professionals used primarily in regulatory safety testing and then in chemical and chemical product declaration, chemical registration and chemical evaluation. They can also be used for selection and sequencing of candidate chemicals during the development of new chemicals and products and in toxicology research. This test group covers physical-chemical properties.

This test guide describes methods for determining the surface tension (in N/m) of aqueous solutions. The methods are based on measuring the force that must be applied vertically on a stirrup or ring in contact with the surface of the liquid, to separate the liquid from the surface, or on a plate.

There are four different methods:

• Plate method;
• Stirrup method;
• ring method;
• OECD compliant ring method.

It is described in detail in ISO standard 304-1985. The methods described are applicable to aqueous solutions of most substances, regardless of their degree of purity. Concentration should be 90% of saturation solubility but below 1g/l.

Therefore, this should be done under a protective cover to prevent interference at approximately 20°C. The ring is immersed below the surface of the solution. Then the table top on which the measuring cup is placed is lowered gradually and evenly at a rate of about 0,5 cm/min to separate the ring from the surface until the maximum force is reached. The force is read on the tensiometer.

EUROLAB assists manufacturers with OECD 115 test compliance. Our test experts, with their professional working mission and principles, provide you, our manufacturers and suppliers, the best service and controlled testing process in our laboratories. Thanks to these services, businesses receive more effective, high-performance and quality testing services and provide safe, fast and uninterrupted service to their customers.