Overview - ISO 7819:2025 - Lithium - Vocabulary
ISO 7819:2025 is an international vocabulary standard that defines and unifies terms used across the lithium value chain. Its scope covers lithium minerals, lithium metal, lithium compounds, lithium alloys, and lithium scrap recycling, including material characteristics, physical characteristics (e.g., particle size, density, tap/apparent density, specific surface area) and chemical characteristics (e.g., moisture content, residual lithium compounds, impurities). The standard provides a common language for producers, traders, laboratories, recyclers, researchers and educators to reduce ambiguity in production, testing, specification and trade.
Key technical topics and definitions
ISO 7819:2025 organizes standardized concepts and definitions into clear sections and informative annexes:
- Generic concepts: core definitions such as lithium, lithium content, concentrate, brine, impurity, and particle.
- Physical characteristics: standardized terms for particle size / particle size distribution, density, apparent (loose bulk) density, tap density, specific surface area, metallic magnetic impurity (MMI) and blending.
- Chemical characteristics: terms such as moisture content, acid‑insoluble / water‑insoluble, residual lithium compounds, residual lithium content and residual alkali content.
- Materials categories: specific language for lithium minerals (with a table of common minerals), lithium cathode and anode active materials (Annex A), common forms of lithium metal (Annex B) and common lithium compounds (Annex C).
- Lithium scrap recycling: unified terminology related to recycling streams and scrap characterization.
Note: ISO 7819:2025 is a vocabulary standard - it does not set performance limits or test methods, but establishes consistent terminology to be referenced by other standards and contracts.
Practical applications and who uses this standard
ISO 7819:2025 is used across the lithium supply chain to:
- Harmonize technical specifications and product descriptions in procurement, sales contracts and trade to reduce disputes.
- Provide consistent terms for quality control, inspection and laboratory reporting (battery materials, minerals, compounds, alloys, brines).
- Support recycling operations and scrap classification by providing common descriptors.
- Aid R&D, standards authorship, education and regulatory communications by providing a single source for definitions.
Primary users include lithium producers, battery manufacturers, material converters, recyclers, testing laboratories, traders, regulatory bodies and academicians.
Related standards and resources
ISO 7819:2025 was developed by ISO/TC 333 (Lithium) and references terminology sources such as ISO/TS 23362:2021, ISO 26824:2022, ISO 21501-1:2009 and ISO/TS 80004-6:2021. For authoritative text and implementation, consult the ISO Online Browsing Platform or your national standards body.
