Accelerated stability testing for chemicals: Shelf life / Expiry Date How does one use the results of Accelerated stability testing for chemicals to determine the typical Shelf life  and Expiry Date? 

e.g. Suppose the typical storage is going to be at 25 C and the expected shelf life is 2 years (as printed on the labels or the best-before date).

Now in the interest of time suppose we test at a higher temperature how do we extrapolate those numbers to the typical shelf life at room temperature. 

Any standard protocols for this? Also what's a reasonable high temperature to use for the accelerated tests. I am dealing with a fairly temperature stable &amp; nonreactive material here. 60 C? 

Stability testing seems quite common in the Pharma industry etc. so I'm sure there's norms out there. 

Note that I'm not dealing with a drug / medicine / food etc. This is strictly for an intermediate which will not be consumed directly by the end user.
Yes, there are guidelines. For example from ICH and WHO for pharma, and from CIPAC for pesticides. Some can be downloaded freely.

Yes, there are guidelines. For example, from ICH and WHO for Pharma, and from CIPAC for pesticides. Some can be downloaded freely.
Accelerated stability tests are generally not accepted as replacements for full-scale stability tests, but can provide an indication of the formation of undesirable by-products etc.

As a rule of thumb, a very general rule, chemical reaction rates in-/decrease by a factor of 2 for every 10C the temperature changes. According to this rule, if the test temperature is raised from 20C to 30C, the test period could theoretically be halved. However, if you look through the temperature/time combinations in the guidelines, you will find this relationship hard to find :-).