IPC 7 English version
Section C
SECTION C – CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY

Note

 In section C, the definitions of groups of chemical elements are as follows:

 Alkali metals: Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Fr

 Alkaline earth metals: Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra

 Lanthanides: elements with atomic numbers 57 to 71 inclusive

 Rare earths: Sc, Y, Lanthanides

 Actinides: elements with atomic numbers 89 to 103 inclusive

 Refractory metals: Ti, V, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W

 Halogens: F, Cl, Br, I, At

 Noble gases: He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn

 Platinum group: Os, Ir, Pt, Ru, Rh, Pd

 Noble metals: Ag, Au, Platinum group

 Light metals: alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, Be, Al, Mg

 Heavy metals: metals other than light metals

 Iron group: Fe, Co, Ni

 Non-metals: H, B, C, Si, N, P, O, S, Se, Te, noble gases, halogens

 Metals: elements other than non-metals

 Transition elements: elements with atomic numbers 21 to 30 inclusive, 39 to 48 inclusive, 57 to 80 inclusive, 89 upwards

 Notes

 The following notes are meant to assist in the use of this part of the classification scheme. They must not be read as modifying in any way the elaborations.

(1)Section C covers:

 (a)pure chemistry, which covers inorganic compounds, organic compounds, macromolecular compounds, and their methods of preparation;

 (b)applied chemistry, which covers compositions containing the above compounds, such as: glass, ceramics, fertilisers, plastics compositions, paints, products of the petroleum industry. It also covers certain compositions on account of their having particular properties rendering them suitable for certain purposes, as in the case of explosives, dyestuffs, adhesives, lubricants, and detergents;

 (c)certain marginal industries, such as the manufacture of coke and of solid or gaseous fuels, the production and refining of oils, fats and waxes, the fermentation industry (e.g., brewing and wine-making), the sugar industry;

 (d)certain operations or treatments, which are either purely mechanical, e.g., the mechanical treatment of leather and skins, or partly mechanical, e.g., the treatment of water or the prevention of corrosion in general;

 (e)metallurgy, ferrous or non-ferrous alloys.

(2)-

 (a)In the case of operations, treatments, products or articles having both a chemical and a non-chemical part or aspect, the general rule is that the chemical part or aspect is covered by section C.

 (b)In some of these cases, the chemical part or aspect brings with it a non-chemical one, even though purely mechanical, because this latter aspect either is essential to the operation or treatment or constitutes an important element thereof. It has seemed, in fact, more logical not to dissociate the different parts or aspects of a coherent whole. This is the case for applied chemistry and for the industries, operations and treatments mentioned in Notes (1)(c), (d) and (e). For example, furnaces peculiar to the manufacture of glass are covered by class C03 and not by class F27.

 (c)There are, however, some exceptions in which the mechanical (or non-chemical) aspect carries with it the chemical aspect, for example:

 –Certain extractive processes, in subclass A61K;

 –The chemical purification of air, in subclass A61L;

 –Chemical methods of fire-fighting, in subclass A62D;

 –Chemical processes and apparatus, in class B01;

 –Impregnation of wood, in subclass B27K;

 –Chemical methods of analysis or testing, in subclass G01N;

 –Photographic materials and processes, in class G03, and, generally, the chemical treatment of textiles and the production of cellulose or paper, in section D.

 (d)In still other cases, the pure chemical aspect is covered by section C and the applied chemical aspect by another section, such as A, B or F, e.g., the use of a substance or composition for:

 –treatment of plants or animals, covered by subclass A01N;

 –foodstuffs, covered by class A23;

 –ammunition or explosives, covered by class F42.

 (e)When the chemical and mechanical aspects are so closely interlocked that a neat and simple division is not possible, or when certain mechanical processes follow as a natural or logical continuation of a chemical treatment, section C may cover, in addition to the chemical aspect, a part only of the mechanical aspect, e.g., after-treatment of artificial stone, covered by class C 04. In this latter case, a note or a reference is usually given to make the position clear, even if sometimes the division is rather arbitrary.

CHEMISTRY

C 01INORGANIC CHEMISTRY (processing powders of inorganic compounds preparatory to the manufacturing of ceramic products C04B 35/00; fermentation or enzyme-using processes for the preparation of elements or inorganic compounds except carbon dioxide C12P 3/00; obtaining metal compounds from mixtures, e.g. ores, which are intermediate compounds in a metallurgical process for obtaining a free metal C21B, C22B; production of non-metallic elements or inorganic compounds by electrolysis or electrophoresis C25B)

C 02TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE (settling tanks, filtering, e.g. sand filters or screening devices, B01D)

C 03GLASS; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL

C 04CEMENTS; CONCRETE; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES (alloys based on refractory metals C22C) [4]

C 05FERTILISERS; MANUFACTURE THEREOF (processes or devices for granulating materials, in general B01J 2/00; soil-conditioning or soil-stabilising materials C09K 17/00) [4]

C 06EXPLOSIVES; MATCHES

C 07ORGANIC CHEMISTRY (such compounds as the oxides, sulfides, or oxysulfides of carbon, cyanogen, phosgene, hydrocyanic acid or salts thereof C01; products obtained from layered base-exchange silicates by ion-exchange with organic compounds such as ammonium, phosphonium or sulfonium compounds or by intercalation of organic compounds C01B 33/44; macromolecular compounds C08; dyes C09; fermentation products C12; fermentation or enzyme-using processes to synthesise a desired chemical compound or composition or to separate optical isomers from a racemic mixture C12P; production of organic compounds by electrolysis or electrophoresis C25B 3/00, C25B 7/00) [2]

C 08ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON (manufacture or treatment of artificial threads, fibres, bristles or ribbons D01)

C 09DYES; PAINTS; POLISHES; NATURAL RESINS; ADHESIVES; MISCELLANEOUS COMPOSITIONS; MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS

C 10PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT

C 11ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES (edible oil or fat compositions A23)

C 12BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING

C 13SUGAR INDUSTRY (polysaccharides, e.g. starch, derivatives thereof C08B; malt C12C) [4]

C 14SKINS; HIDES; PELTS; LEATHER

METALLURGY

C 21METALLURGY OF IRON

C 22METALLURGY (of iron C21); FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS (general methods or devices for heat treatment of ferrous or non-ferrous metals or alloys C21D; production of metals by electrolysis or electrophoresis C25)

C 23COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL (by metallising textiles D06M 11/83; decorating textiles by locally metallising D06Q 1/04); CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL (for specific applications, see the relevant places, e.g. for manufacturing resistors H01C 17/06); INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL (treating metal surfaces or coating of metals by electrolysis or electrophoresis C25D, C25F) [2]

C 25ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR (electrodialysis, electro-osmosis, separation of liquids by electricity B01D; working of metal by the action of a high concentration of electric current B23H; treatment of water, waste water or sewage by electrochemical methods C02F 1/46; surface treatment of metallic material or coating involving at least one process provided for in class C23 and at least one process covered by this class C23C 28/00, C23F 17/00; anodic or cathodic protection C23F; single-crystal growth C30B; metallising textiles D06M 11/83; decorating textiles by locally metallising D06Q 1/04; electrochemical methods of analysis G01N; electrochemical measuring, indicating or recording devices G01R; electrolytic circuit elements, e.g. capacitors, H01G; electrochemical current or voltage generators H01M) [4]

C 30CRYSTAL GROWTH (separation by crystallisation in general B01D 9/00) [3]