This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles

for the
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

Designation: B6 − 18 American Association of State

Highway and Transportation
Officials Standard
AASHTO No: M120-77

Standard Specification for

Zinc1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation B6; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of original
adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A superscript
epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense.

1. Scope* 2. Referenced Documents

1.1 This specification covers zinc metal made from ore or 2.1 The following documents of the issue in effect on the
other material by a process of distillation or by electrolysis in date of material purchase form a part of this specification to the
five grades as follows: extent referenced herein.
1.1.1 LME Grade 2.2 ASTM Standards:2
1.1.2 Special High Grade B852 Specification for Continuous Galvanizing Grade
1.1.3 High Grade (CGG) Zinc Alloys for Hot-Dip Galvanizing of Sheet
1.1.4 Intermediate Grade Steel
1.1.5 Prime Western Grade B897 Specification for Configuration of Zinc and Zinc Alloy
NOTE 1—Certain continuous galvanizing grades are specified in Speci- Jumbo, Block, Half Block, and Slab Ingot
fication B852. Other continuous galvanizing and controlled lead grades B899 Terminology Relating to Non-ferrous Metals and Al-
are not included in this specification but are covered by specific user loys
purchasing specifications.
B914 Practice for Color Codes on Zinc and Zinc Alloy Ingot
1.2 This specification does not cover zinc produced by for Use in Hot-Dip Galvanizing of Steel
“sweating” or remelting of secondary zinc. B949 Specification for General Requirements for Zinc and
1.3 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded Zinc Alloy Products
as standard. The values given in parentheses are mathematical E29 Practice for Using Significant Digits in Test Data to
conversions to SI units that are provided for information only Determine Conformance with Specifications
and are not considered standard. E527 Practice for Numbering Metals and Alloys in the
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the Unified Numbering System (UNS)
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the E536 Test Methods for Chemical Analysis of Zinc and Zinc
responsibility of the user of this standard to become familiar Alloys
with all hazards including those identified in the appropriate 2.3 ISO Standards:3
Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for this product/material as provided ISO 3815-1 Zinc and zinc alloys — Part 1: Analysis of solid
by the manufacturer, to establish appropriate safety, health, samples by optical emission spectrometry
and environmental practices, and determine the applicability ISO 3815-2 Zinc and zinc alloys — Part 2: Analysis by
of regulatory limitations prior to use. inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry
1.5 This international standard was developed in accor-
dance with internationally recognized principles on standard- 3. Terminology
ization established in the Decision on Principles for the 3.1 Terms shall be defined in accordance with Terminology
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recom- B899.
mendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical
Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee. 3.2 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:

1 2
This specification is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee B02 on For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
Nonferrous Metals and Alloys and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee contact ASTM Customer Service at [email protected]. For Annual Book of ASTM
B02.04 on Zinc and Cadmium. Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on
Current edition approved Nov. 1, 2018. Published January 2019. Originally the ASTM website.
3
approved in 1911. Last previous edition approved in 2013 as B6 – 13. DOI: Available from American National Standards Institute (ANSI), 25 W. 43rd St.,
10.1520/B0006-18. 4th Floor, New York, NY 10036, http://www.ansi.org.

*A Summary of Changes section appears at the end of this standard

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 B6 − 18
3.2.1 LME Grade, n—a grade of zinc containing a minimum 7.2 Zinc metal may be ordered in jumbos or blocks, as
of 99.995 % zinc, with controlled impurity levels, as specified specified in Specification B897.
in Table 1. 7.3 Zinc metal may also be ordered in anodes or other
3.2.2 Special High Grade, n—a high purity grade of zinc shapes.
containing a minimum of 99.990 % zinc, with controlled
impurity levels, as specified in Table 1. 8. Appearance
3.2.3 High Grade, n—a grade of zinc containing a minimum 8.1 The zinc metal shall be reasonably free of surface
of 99.95 % zinc, with controlled impurity levels, as specified in corrosion and adhering foreign matter.
Table 1. 9. Sampling for Chemical Analysis
3.2.4 Intermediate Grade, n—a grade of zinc containing a 9.1 See Specification B949.
minimum of 99.5 % zinc, with controlled impurity levels, as
specified in Table 1. 10. Methods of Chemical Analysis
3.2.5 Prime Western Grade, n—a grade of zinc containing 10.1 In case of disagreement, results secured by an ap-
0.5 to 1.4 % lead, a minimum of 98.5 % zinc, with controlled proved method or a method mutually agreed upon by both
impurity levels, as specified in Table 1. parties shall be the basis of acceptance. Approved methods
3.3 Abbreviations: include Test Methods E536, ISO 3815-1 and ISO 3815-2.
NOTE 2—Test Methods E536 is directly applicable, in an unmodified
3.3.1 LME—LME Grade Zinc
form, only to alloys 3, 5, and 7. ISO 3815-1 and ISO 3815-2 are generic
3.3.2 SHG—Special High Grade Zinc methods applied to zinc and zinc alloys. Each of the methods may be
modified and formatted for the alloy to be assayed. An experienced
3.3.3 HG—High Grade Zinc chemist, using suitable and/or traceable standards along with valid quality
3.3.4 IG—Intermediate Grade Zinc assurance techniques, will be able to perform and validate the methods
and demonstrate acceptable precision and accuracy.
3.3.5 PWG—Prime Western Grade Zinc
11. Rejection and Rehearing
4. Ordering Information
11.1 See Specification B949.
4.1 See Specification B949.
12. Investigation of Claims
5. Materials and Manufacture
12.1 See Specification B949.
5.1 The manufacturer shall use care to have each lot of zinc
metal be as uniform in quality as possible. 13. Settlement of Claims
6. Chemical Requirements 13.1 See Specification B949.
6.1 The zinc metal shall conform to the requirements 14. Product Identification Marking and Packaging
prescribed in Table 1. 14.1 See Specification B949.
6.2 See Specification B949.
15. Keywords
7. Sizes and Shapes 15.1 high grade zinc; intermediate grade zinc; LME grade
7.1 Slabs varying in weight from 40 to 60 lb (18 to 27 kg) zinc; prime western zinc; special high grade zinc; zinc; zinc
are all considered standard slabs. metal
TABLE 1 Chemical Requirements
NOTE 1—The following applies to all specified limits in this table: For purposes of determining conformance with this specification, an observed value
obtained from analysis shall be rounded off “to the nearest unit” in the last right-hand place of figures used in expressing the limiting value, in accordance
with the rounding method of Practice E29.
Composition,%
Grade Alumi- Total
Color Iron Cadmium Copper Tin Zinc, min
[UNS]A Lead num Non-Zinc
CodeB max max max max by difference
max max
LME Grade White 0.003 max 0.002 0.003 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.005 99.995
(LME) [Z12002]
Special High GradeC Yellow 0.003 max 0.003 0.003 0.002 0.002 0.001 0.010 99.990
(SHG) [Z13001]
High Grade Green 0.03 max 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.002 0.001 0.05 99.95
(HG) [Z14003]
Intermediate Grade Blue 0.45 max 0.05 0.01 0.01 0.20 ... 0.5 99.5
(IG) [Z16005]
Prime Western Grade Black 0.5–1.4 0.05 0.20 0.01 0.10 ... 1.5 98.5
(PWG) [Z18005]
A
UNS designations were established in accordance with Practice E527.
B
Refer to Practice B914.
C
For London Metal Exchange (LME) purposes, Special High Grade zinc must be 99.995 % minimum zinc content by difference, corresponding to LME Grade in ASTM
Specification B6.

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 B6 − 18

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

Committee B02 has identified the location of selected changes to this standard since the last issue (B6 – 13)
that may impact the use of this standard. (Approved November 1, 2018.)

(1) Section references to Specification B949 were removed.

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