Near infrared polymer analyser to monitor polymerization and identify plastics

11-Jul-05

The NIT-38 polymer analyser that is considered to use near infrared (NIR) transmission spectroscopy to measure hydroxyl and carboxyl numbers in polyols and residual solvents in polymers has been released by NIR Technology Australia. It monitors the polymerization reaction and can also be used to identify plastics. This same instrument can also be used to measure residual solvents in polymer streams, as well as water and unreacted monomers. The NIT-38 polymer analyser is liable to find application in the laboratory or in processing plants. The NIT-38 polymer analyser uses a diode array spectrometer that has no moving optical component, and is independent of orientation and vibration. The analyser is believed to make operations easy and requires only two keystrokes for an analysis. It has a built-in computer that is considered to controls the operation of the instrument, compute the parameters for the samples and display results acquired on a LCD screen. Data that is stored in the analyser's memory can later be downloaded onto a PC. Alternatively, the analyser can be controlled from a PC and the data stored in the PC. NTAS is also considered to provide a full suite of routines to allow PLS calibration development, spectral collection, display and manipulation, library search and discriminant analysis besides this.