Moisture Balances

PCE's moisture balance products allow for quick, easy and accurate determination of moisture content. A moisture balance is an essential tool used for testing materials and products affected by humidity and water. In fact, moisture plays a key role in the strength, storage, safety and monetary value of many different goods. For example, in the food processing industry, laws regulate the amount of water or moisture present in certain food products. The cost of a food product can be impacted by moisture, because water adds weight and some foods are priced per pound, kilogram, etc. In addition, to prevent microorganism growth within the foods themselves, moisture content is monitored carefully by food scientists and food safety professionals. Moisture also can influence the overall taste and texture of a food product. Thus, to guarantee a stable production run resulting in a high-quality food product, moisture is measured at several points throughout the food production process, including but not limited to the inspection of incoming ingredients, inline moisture monitoring using fixed-installation moisture sensors, and offline quality assurance laboratory tests.

The more important water or moisture content is to a product or material, the more accurate the moisture balance should be. Ideally, a halogen lamp moisture balance should offer an accuracy of 0.01 % and a resolution of 0.01 g or better. Therefore, one must evaluate the technical specifications of a moisture balance carefully prior to purchase to ensure compatibility with the intended practical application.

In addition to accuracy and resolution, one also must consider the size of the drying chamber and the size of the sample to be measured. Most moisture balance models require the use of aluminum sample pans with diameters of approximately 90 mm (3.54"). For precise measurement, the sample material ideally should be spread flat and evenly distributed throughout the pan.

The drying chamber of a moisture balance is, in most cases, equipped with a halogen quartz glass lamp. The halogen quartz glass lamp drying method offers a number of advantages including a short warm-up time, easy-to-control temperature curve and relatively good infrared penetration depth. However, there are also moisture balances with other heat sources, such as ceramic surface lamps, CQR quartz lamps, carbon infrared lamps and microwaves.

Moisture balances differ not only in heat sources, but also in different weighing systems. Moisture balances typically feature weighing systems that use either electromagnetic force compensation or strain gauge technologies. A strain gauge commonly is used in portable moisture balances, while electromagnetic force compensation typically is used in stationary moisture balances. Moisture balances with strain gauge weighing systems are not as accurate as electromagnetic force compensating moisture balances, so there is a trade-off for mobility.

Another point to consider when purchasing a moisture balance is the processing of the measured data. For example, some moisture balances allow the measured data to be transferred to a PC for processing. Depending on the extent of your recordkeeping or presentation needs, data transfer capabilities can save precious time by eliminating tedious data entry tasks.

Using this brief introduction, it should be possible for you to identify a moisture balance suitable for your particular application. However, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact PCE's friendly and knowledgeable technical support staff at or +44 (0) 2380 987 035 for PCE Instruments UK, or or +1 (561) 320-9162 for PCE Americas Inc. We are happy to assist.

Moisture may be particularly useful and necessary, but also exceptionally harmful if amounts exceed acceptable levels. During the production process, the use of equipment that helps monitor and analyze moisture content is essential as it is impossible to visually detect how much moisture a product contains. Excessive moisture leads to the acceleration of various spoilage processes including mold formation, a shortened shelf life, and a reduced service life.

Moisture balances provide a reliable analysis of the moisture amount in a sample that the user prefers to inspect. Since different samples may contain varying amounts of moisture, default settings or individual adjustments may be applied. Accurate temperature is of critical importance as a sample may dry insufficiently or become burnt if the temperature selection is incorrect. With individual temperature control, adjustments may be made throughout the drying process and the entire process saved for repeated use. It is imperative that laboratories and organizations use the highest quality devices to ensure repeatability of the drying process and utilize the widest range of applied methods.

The Loss on Drying (LOD) method, achieved through infrared heating used in a moisture balance, has proven to be a reliable and relatively easy way to test moisture parameters. A moisture balances’ heating element removes the moisture from a particular sample and thus provides an opportunity to compare the weight before and after the drying procedure. Moisture balances are particularly beneficial for weighing solid samples and are widely applied in the pharmaceutical, medical, chemical and paper industry, as well as foodstuff production.

As with any device, it is necessary to check and calibrate the moisture balance to certify accurate and reliable results. This ensures the performance of the device remains at the desired level. The PC connectivity and applied software allows the user to simply and quickly track the drying process, as well as display how quickly moisture evaporates. The software also supports the user in choosing precise adjustments for each sample. With the correct application of these features in moisture balances, producers are able to limit second batch productions, eliminate low-quality products, and reduce production times.