C
SECTION C — CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
 C

Note(s)

  1. 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

  2. Section C covers :
    1. pure chemistry, which covers inorganic compounds, organic compounds, macromolecular compounds, and their methods of preparation;
    2. 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;
    3. 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;
    4. 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;
    5. metallurgy, ferrous or non-ferrous alloys.
  3. In all sections of the IPC, in the absence of an indication to the contrary, the Periodic System of chemical elements referred to is the one with 8 groups as represented in the table below. For example, group C07F 3/00 "Compounds containing elements of the 2nd Group of the Periodic System" refers to the elements of columns IIa and IIb. [2009.01]

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. There are, however, some exceptions in which the mechanical (or non-chemical) aspect carries with it the chemical aspect, for example:
    4. 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:
    5. 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 C04. 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
 C10
PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
 C10L
FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G OR  C10K; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS;  USE OF ADDITIVES TO FUELS OR FIRES;  FIRE-LIGHTERS  [5]
P:60 C10L 1/00
Liquid carbonaceous fuels
 C10L 1/10
·  containing additives
 C10L 1/32
·  consisting of coal-oil suspensions or aqueous emulsions
P:50 C10L 3/00
Gaseous fuels; Natural gas; Synthetic natural gas obtained by processes not covered by subclasses C10G, C10K; Liquefied petroleum gas  [5]
P:40 C10L 5/00
Solid fuels (produced by solidifying fluid fuels C10L 7/00; peat briquettes C10F 7/00)
 C10L 5/40
·  essentially based on materials of non-mineral origin
P:30 C10L 7/00
Fuels produced by solidifying fluid fuels
P:70 C10L 8/00
Fuels not provided for in other groups of this subclass  [8]
P:20 C10L 9/00
Treating solid fuels to improve their combustion
P:10 C10L 10/00
Use of additives to fuels or fires for particular purposes (using binders for briquetting solid fuels C10L 5/00; using additives to improve the combustion of solid fuels C10L 9/00)  [1,8]
 C10L 10/08
·  for improving lubricity; for reducing wear  [8]
 C10L 10/10
·  for improving the octane number  [8]
 C10L 10/12
·  for improving the cetane number  [8]
 C10L 10/14
·  for improving low temperature properties  [8]
P:0 C10L 11/00
Fire-lighters (matches C06F)