Separation and identification of stabilizers used in the manufacture of polyethylene are necessary in order to correlate performance properties with polymer composition.

The BHT extraction procedure is made effective by the insolubility of the polymer sample in solvents generally used for gas chromatographic analysis.

1.1 This test method describes a procedure for the determination of butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) (2,6-di-t-butyl-4-methyl-hydroxybenzene) in polymers of ethylene and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymers by solvent extraction followed by gas chromatographic analysis. Detection of the compound is achieved by flame ionization, and quantitative analysis is obtained by use of internal or external standards, as described in Practices E 260, E 355, and E 594.

1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for information only.

1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. Specific precautionary statements are given in Section 9.

Note 1—There is no known ISO equivalent for this test method.