Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies a method for the determination by ion pair chromatography of the iron chelated by each individual ortho(hydroxy)-ortho(hydroxy) isomer of the chelating agents [o,o] EDDHA, [o,o] EDDHMA and by HBED and containing one or more of these substances, except for [o,o] EDDHMA and HBED mixes in inorganic fertilizers and [o,o] EDDHA in organo-mineral fertilizers.

The method allows the identification and the determination of the total concentration of water soluble iron chelates of these chelating agents. Also, after derivatization with Fe, the soluble amount of the chelating agents can be determined when other micronutrients beside Fe are present in inorganic fertilizers containing [o,o] EDDHA, [o,o] EDDHMA or HBED.

This method is applicable to a mass fraction of the metal chelated of at least 0,625 %. This document is applicable to fertilizing product blends, where the blend is a mix of at least two of the following components: fertilizers, liming materials, soil improvers, growing media, inhibitors, plant biostimulants, and where the following category: inorganic fertilizers or organo-mineral fertilizers is the highest % in the blend by mass or volume, or in the case of liquid form by dry mass.

Additional information on eventual interferences in fertilizer product blends is provided in Clause 5.

NOTE 1 The substances EDDHA and EDDHMA exist as several different isomeric forms. Positional isomers for the hydroxyl or methyl groups (in ortho, meta, and para positions) as well as stereo isomers (meso and dl-racemic forms) are known. Both meso and dl-racemic forms of the [ortho,ortho] EDDHA and [ortho,ortho]. Since para, meta and ortho methyl positional isomers of the EDDHMA present quite similar stability, they could be grouped: in the method here described the para, meta and ortho methyl positional isomers of the [o,o] EDDHMA are considered together. HBED (N,N'-bis(2-hydroxybenzyl)-ethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic acid) does not present isomeric forms.

NOTE 2 At present, analytically pure standards only exist for [ortho,ortho] EDDHA, [ortho,ortho] EDDHMA and HBED. All other substances being unavailable as a standard, the influence of their eventual presence in the samples (with respect to the sensitivity and the selectivity of this method) has not been studied.

NOTE 3 The meso and the dl-racemic forms of [o,o] EDDHA and [o,o] EDDHMA can be determined separately by this method.

Purpose

In the frame of standardization request M/564 and its amendments harmonized standards shall refer to test methods to be applied for verifying the conformity of CE marked fertilizing products with the requirements set out in Regulation (EU) 2019/1009.

This European Standard describes a method for the determination by ion pair chromatography of the iron chelated by each individual ortho(hydroxy)-ortho(hydroxy) isomer of the chelating agents [o,o] EDDHA, [o,o] EDDHMA and by HBED.