POLYMER TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS VESSEL

• US 20190226962A1
• Filed: 04/02/2019
• Published: 07/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Environmental Express, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Environmental Express, Inc.
• Inventors: Kim, Edward Jino, Boyd, Joseph Martin, Smith, David Alan
• Granted Patent: US 10,641,691 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/028 Graduation
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/123 Flexible; Elastomeric
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/505 flexible containers not provided for above
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 7/00 Heating or cooling apparatus autoclaves B01J3/04; Heat insulating devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 5/04 by removing a component, e.g. by evaporation, and weighing the remainder
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 5/045 for determining moisture content
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49776 Pressure, force, or weight determining

Abstract

A thin film vessel useable in gravimetric methods for measuring the total dissolved solids or total solids in a liquid sample, or the moisture content of a solid sample. The vessel includes a main body formed of a thin walled polymeric material having a melting temperature greater than 180° C. The main body comprises an open top edge and a sealed bottom edge which define an inner cavity configured to hold a volume of liquid, and indicia applied to a portion of the main body, wherein the indicia include a tare weight of the vessel.

Claims

1. A vessel comprising:

a main body comprising an open top end and a sealed bottom end to define an inner cavity configured to hold a volume of liquid, wherein the main body comprises a thin walled polymeric material having a melting temperature greater than 180°

C.; and

an indicia applied to a portion of the main body indicating a tare weight of the vessel, wherein the tare weight of the vessel is a weight measured after at least one preconditioning step, wherein the preconditioning step comprises heating the vessel to at least 180°

C. for a specific length of time,

wherein the vessel weighs between 0.5 grams and 5.0 grams.

2. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the tare weight of the vessel comprises the weight measured after a subsequent preconditioning step yields a weight with a variation of less than 0.5 mg from a weight recorded from a previous preconditioning step.

3. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the specific length of time comprises a time of at least one hour.

4. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the preconditioning step includes heating the vessel to at least 180°

C. for greater than 12 hours.

5. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the polymeric material comprises nylon, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, polypropylene, or a combination thereof.

6. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the main body further comprises a front wall portion and a rear wall portion connected by longitudinal side wall portions.

7. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the main body further comprises a front wall portion and a rear wall portion connected along longitudinal side edges thereof.

8. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the vessel is self-standing.

9. The vessel of claim 1, wherein a wall thickness of the thin walled polymeric material is less than 0.008 inches.

10. A method for testing total dissolved solids in a liquid sample, the method comprising:

placing a volume of liquid into a testing vessel, wherein the testing vessel comprises;

a main body comprising an open top end and a sealed bottom end to define an inner cavity configured to hold a volume of liquid, wherein the main body comprises a thin walled polymeric material having a melting temperature greater than 180°

C.; and

an indicia applied to a portion of the main body indicating a tare weight of the testing vessel, wherein the tare weight of the testing vessel comprises a weight of the testing vessel measured after at least one preconditioning step, wherein the preconditioning step comprises heating the testing vessel to at least 180°

C. for a first length of time,

heating the testing vessel containing the liquid sample for a time sufficient to evaporate all of the liquid;

heating the testing vessel at 180°

C. for a second length of time and weighing the testing vessel; and

repeating the step of heating the testing vessel at 180°

C. for a second length of time and weighing the testing vessel until subsequent recorded weights of the testing vessel vary by less than 0.5 mg.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second length of time comprise a time of one hour.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first length of time comprises a time of at least one hour.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the volume of liquid comprises a volume of less than 150 ml.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the weight of the testing vessel comprises a weight of between 0.5 grams and 5.0 grams.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the polymeric material comprises nylon, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, polypropylene, or a combination thereof.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the wall thickness of the thin walled polymeric material is less than 0.008 inches.

17. A method of producing a vessel useful for gravimetric testing, the method comprising:

performing at least one preconditioning step on a vessel, the vessel comprising;

a main body having an open top end and a sealed bottom end to define an inner cavity configured to hold a volume of liquid, wherein the main body comprises a thin walled polymeric material having a melting temperature greater than 180°

C., wherein the preconditioning step comprises heating the vessel to at least 180°

C. for a specified time and weighing the vessel; and

applying an indicia to a portion of the main body of the vessel, wherein the indicia include the tare weight of the vessel.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

repeating the preconditioning step until subsequent recorded weights of the vessel vary by less than 0.5 mg, wherein the final recorded weight is a tare weight of the vessel.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the tare weight of the vessel comprises a weight of between 0.5 grams and 5.0 grams.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the vessel has a wall thickness of less than 0.008 inches.