UN No. IMDG CLASS PROPER SHIPPING NAME (PSN)


PACKING GROUP


PPROPERTIES AND OBSERVATIONS UN 1361 Class 4.2


CARBON, animal, or vegetable origin


II


Black material originating from organic sources. Particularly includes carbon blacks of animal and vegetable origin, other nonactivated carbon materials and charcoal produced from materials such as bone, bamboo, coconut shell, Jute and wood. Liable to heat slowly and ignite spontaneously in air.


UN 1361 Class 4.2


CARBON, animal, or vegetable origin


UN 1362 Class 4.2 CARBON, ACTIVATED


Table credit: Britannia P&I Club


Changes in the requirements of the IMDG code applicable to charcoal


The 2024 edition of the IMDG Code has removed two Special Provisions (SP), previously applicable to charcoal cargoes, and introduced a new SP 978. The removed SP’s enabled exemptions from the requirements for charcoal:


- SP 925 stipulated that the provisions of the IMDG Code did not apply to a consignment of carbon if it passed certain tests for self-heating substances


- SP 223 exempts shipments which, when tested, do not meet the “established defining criteria for the class or division listed in column 3, or any other class or division”, except in the case of a marine pollutant.


SP 978 introduces the following, specific requirements


For the purpose of this Code, carbon of animal or vegetable origin means carbon, generated in a production or manufacturing process, not formed in a geological process and not obtained from mining. Carbon covered by this entry is produced by pyrolysis of an organic material such as bone, bamboo, coconut shell, jute or wood.


The UN N.4 test according to section 33.4.6 of the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria shall not be used to exempt carbon of animal or vegetable origin (UN 1361) from the provisions of this Code.


Without testing, the material shall be assigned to at least packing group III. - Unless otherwise approved by the competent authority, the following provisions apply:


- After production, the unpacked material shall be subject to weathering (stored under cover, but in the open air) for a minimum period of 14 days before being packaged for transport;


- or after pyrolysis, steam and cooling shall be applied to the unpacked material and the material shall be packed under an inert gas atmosphere (e.g. nitrogen); packages shall then be stored under loose cover or in the open air for a minimum of 24 hours before transport.


The material shall be packed into packaging only when the temperature of the material does not exceed 40°C on the day of packing. When stowed in a cargo transport unit, minimum headspace in the CTU of 30 cm shall be maintained, and the stowage height of the package(s) in the unit should not exceed 1.5 m; or the maximum block size of the packages should be 16 m3 and a minimum of 15 cm of space between blocks should be maintained.


98 | ISSUE 111 | MAR 2025 | THE REPORT III See entry above. III


Activated porous black carbon materials not including charcoal (see UN 1361). May be in the form of powder, granules, pellets, fibres or felts. If chemically activated, may self-heat, and may ignite spontaneously in air.


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