Question

Your laboratory just received several sample containers of peas to analyze for moisture content. There is a visible condensate on the inside of the container. What is your procedure to obtain a result?

Answer 1

There are many methods for the determination of moisture content. The primary methods used are loss on drying and Karl Fischer titration.

In the loss on drying method, a wet sample is weighed on a balance, placed in an oven, and heated until the end of the drying period, i.e., until the sample reaches equilibrium. Then it is weighed once again to determine the removed moisture.