New Moisture Meter Technology Makes Drying Ovens Obsolete

PULLMAN, Wash., Jan. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Decagon Devices has announced the release of the TrueDry CV-9 High Precision Moisture Meter, an instrument that accurately measures the moisture content of nine samples with just four minutes of hands-on time, saving scientists, chemists, quality control, and R&D professionals approximately 2,500 workflow interruptions and 150 hours per year over other loss-on drying methods such as drying ovens.  The new technology dries each sample to a previously impossible to attain standard by passing heated, desiccated air over them until achieving a uniform value of 1% relative humidity. The TrueDry monitors weight automatically and dries at lower temperatures, preventing the loss of materials other than water.  Dr. Colin Campbell, Vice President of Research and Development comments on how this technology improves the measuring process, "It's like turning on a light in the process of moisture content analysis.  It used to be that we had no idea if, in the process of weighing samples, putting them in the oven, and weighing them again, they lost other volatile compounds, dried at the right temperature, or we'd kept them in the oven long enough.  Now, with this new technology, we don't have to worry about those issues because it's all done automatically, and we can absolutely count on the consistency of the results."

How does this new technology work?  As each sample dries, TrueDry monitors the weight by cycling each sample onto a high precision electromagnetic balance for repeated weight measurements.  The TrueDry also eliminates error due to ambient conditions where differences in the humidity of your lab can cause significant variation in oven dry values.  It does this by maintaining constant vapor pressure in its chamber regardless of ambient conditions, resulting in more consistent results over drying oven technology.  In addition, the TrueDry is the only high-throughput moisture meter that dries samples instead of burning them.  Burning samples at high temperatures expels mass from the sample in addition to water (i.e. alcohols, etc.).  The controlled contact drying technology in TrueDry makes it possible to analyze samples at lower temperatures, eliminating the loss of materials other than water, and providing confidence in the accuracy of moisture content measurements.

Industries that rely on this measurement and will benefit from this new technology include foods, pet foods, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, petroleum, lubricants, and plastics.   About the future of this technology, Dr. Campbell says,  "Once you're able to control sample headspace humidity, watch drying, and control temperature, the next step is the behavior of the sample over time.  I'd love to work with the behavior of the sample during the drying process."  Learn more about TrueDry technology by watching this video online: www.aqualab.com/truedry.

About Decagon Devices, Inc.:  Decagon Devices is a company based in Pullman, Washington which researches and develops scientific instrumentation specializing in measuring water in foods, pharmaceuticals, and the environment.

Contact:
Nathan Roberts
Media Relations
[email protected]
509.332.5581

Video - http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/PRNA/ENR/FX-SF19001-20150128-1.mp4

SOURCE Decagon Devices, Inc.