How did class 20.59 split and absorb other classes?

Class 20.59, manufacture of other chemical products not elsewhere classified, in NACE Rev. 2, was both split and enlarged in NACE Rev. 2.1. Paragraph 143 states the change. A new class 20.51, manufacture of liquid biofuels, was split out of it. At the same time, the content of the old classes 20.51, 20.52 and 20.53 was moved into class 20.59. The same number, 20.51, therefore means explosives in one version and liquid biofuels in the other. The change does not determine a code for a specific reader.

What was split out of class 20.59?

Paragraph 143 states that class 20.59 was split into class 20.51, manufacture of liquid biofuels, and class 20.59, manufacture of other chemical products not elsewhere classified. The new class 20.51 is defined by its explanatory note, which includes manufacture of biodiesel, manufacture of ethanol from biomass, manufacture of mixtures of bioethanol and ethers partially derived from biomass, and manufacture of liquid biofuels even if processes use waste as an input. The note excludes manufacture of solid fuels from vegetable biomass to class 16.26, manufacture of ethyl alcohol other than for bioethanol biofuels to class 20.14, and manufacture of explosives to class 20.59. The inclusions and exclusions are taken from the note as the manual prints it.

The split separates liquid biofuels from the residual chemical class, so that biofuel production can be identified separately in statistics. The separation follows the manual’s usual principle: a growing activity, previously held inside a residual class, is given its own class when the classification is revised. The residual class keeps its title and number, with a narrower content, because the biofuel work has been removed. The residual character of class 20.59 is therefore preserved, but its scope is smaller than the old class of the same number, and the note for the new class must be read in full to see what remains.

What was moved into class 20.59?

Paragraph 143 states that the content of the previous classes 20.51, manufacture of explosives, 20.52, manufacture of glues, and 20.53, manufacture of essential oils, was moved into class 20.59. The explanatory note for the new class 20.59 confirms the move in its inclusion list, which includes manufacture of glues and prepared adhesives, manufacture of essential oils and extracts of natural aromatic products, and manufacture of explosives and pyrotechnic products, alongside photographic materials, gelatine, propellant powders, e-liquids for vaping devices, and a range of other chemical products. The note also includes manufacture of matches and manufacture of writing and drawing ink, and it excludes liquid biofuels to class 20.51, synthetic aromatic products to class 20.14, printing ink to class 20.30, and perfume and toilet preparations to class 20.42.

The double movement, split out and absorption together, makes class 20.59 the most treacherous class number in the manufacturing changes for a reader who works from numbers alone. The number 20.59 in both versions names a residual chemical class, but the contents differ in both directions: biofuels have left, and explosives, glues and essential oils have arrived. The number 20.51 is worse: it names explosives in the old version and liquid biofuels in the new version, with no overlap in content. No reading of either number is safe without the version stated, the note read, and the correspondence table checked.

How is the double movement shown?

| Class number | NACE Rev. 2 meaning, as stated in paragraph 143 | NACE Rev. 2.1 meaning, as stated in paragraph 143 and the notes |

|---|---|---|

| 20.51 | Manufacture of explosives | Manufacture of liquid biofuels |

| 20.52 | Manufacture of glues | Content moved into 20.59, number not reused for that content |

| 20.53 | Manufacture of essential oils | Content moved into 20.59, number not reused for that content |

| 20.59 | Manufacture of other chemical products not elsewhere classified, including biofuels | Manufacture of other chemical products not elsewhere classified, excluding biofuels, including explosives, glues and essential oils |

The table follows paragraph 143 and the notes for classes 20.51 and 20.59. It states the double movement in the starkest form, because the stark form is the point: the same numbers carry different contents in the two versions. The table does not state the correspondence type for any class, because the type must be read from the correspondence table, where the rearrangement across four classes is likely to appear as a many to many pattern rather than a clean split. The notes and the table together are the authority, and neither alone is sufficient.

What does a split not decide?

A split in the classification is a change in the structure of the published categories. It is not a decision about a specific unit. The correspondence table records the scopes where one old class becomes two or more new classes, and the explanatory note for each new class states its inclusions and exclusions. Neither document picks a new class for a specific unit. The classification is statistical only. Tax, licensing, social security, collective agreements and funding eligibility are not settled by this classification, and the institute or register holding the record confirms the entry for a unit.

Where is a split class confirmed?

The check for a split class runs in three steps. First, the section 4 summary in the manual for the change as adopted. Second, the explanatory notes for the new classes, for inclusions and exclusions. Third, ask the institute or register for the entry actually held. The first step is supplied here, and the other two are pointed to.

Never read class 20.51 or 20.59 without stating the version, read both new notes in full, and confirm the entry with the institute or register that holds it.