Date: March 1, 1998

Kett introduces the FM300, a moisture analyzer targeted for customers requiring unsurpassed accuracy on low moisture content products and products containing multiple volatiles. Continuing the Kett tradition of stable, easy-to-use instrumentation, the FM300 uses an innovative technique, "gain on drying," to measure products as accurately as 1 ppm.

To test the product, a sample is placed in a sealed container and heat is applied. Gas vapor, including water, is emitted from the sample and passed through an activated carbon filter. Only the water vapor emerges into a second sealed molecular sieve chamber. A microbalance weighs the "gain on drying" in the second chamber. Dividing this weight gain by the original sample weight provides the moisture content.

Because no chemicals are used, and chemical waste is not created, the FM300 provides a much more cost-effective direct method of moisture assessment than Karl Fischer (KF) tests. In addition, since all products can be tested, any operator can obtain accurate, repeatable measurements without depending on complex assessments of chemical interactions that are required for KF testing. "Pharmaceutical, polymer, and petrochemical customers have been searching for a cost-effective, environmentally sound, direct method for some time," said John Bogart, of Kett U.S. "The FM300 is the right tool at the right time for these customers because the method provides the direct traceability, reliability, and validated technology required for internal and regulatory concerns."

Over fifty years of research and development have made Kett a worldwide industry leader in the manufacture of testing equipment. Other products include NIR composition analyzers, handheld and desktop NIR moisture meters, IR moisture balances, wood, paper and agricultural meters, coating thickness testers and surface property analyzers.