TGA — Thermogravimetric Analysis | Resment Solutions LLP

Resment TGA-1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Composition, resolved by temperature

A thermobalance turns a heating ramp into a compositional assay. Water leaves first, then plasticiser and other volatiles, then the polymer backbone decomposes, and what survives to the top of the ramp is filler, ash or char. Read the steps and you have quantified a formulation without dissolving a thing.

TGA-1 RT – 1150 °C TGA-2 RT – 1250 °C TGA-3 RT – 1450 °C TGA-4 RT – 1550 °C

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What it tells you

The questions a thermobalance settles

CompositionWhat are the proportions in this formulation?

A single ramp with a well-chosen atmosphere switch separates volatiles, polymer, carbon black and inorganic ash into discrete mass-loss steps. In rubber compounding this is the standard route to oil, polymer, black and filler content — no solvent extraction required.

Thermal stabilityAt what temperature does it start to go?

Onset of decomposition — usually quoted at 1 %, 5 % or extrapolated-onset mass loss — is the number that decides a processing window, a service ceiling, or whether a grade survives the extruder it is destined for.

Filler & ashHow much inorganic content is really in there?

Residue at the top of the ramp gives filler or ash content directly, with far better precision and far less time than muffle-furnace ashing — and on milligrams of sample rather than grams.

Moisture & volatilesWhat is leaving below 200 °C?

Surface water, bound water and residual solvent separate by the temperature at which they are released, distinguishing hydrate stoichiometry from simple wetness — a routine question in pharmaceutical solid-state work.

Evolved gasWhat exactly came off at that step?

Coupling the exhaust to GC, MS or FTIR identifies the species behind each mass loss, turning an anonymous step into a named decomposition product. The Resment TGA provides the thermostatted transfer interface for all three.

KineticsHow long will it last at temperature?

Runs at several heating rates support Arrhenius-type lifetime estimation, extrapolating short high-temperature experiments into service-life predictions at operating temperature.

Reading the result

The derivative is where the detail lives

A TG trace shows how much mass was lost. Its first derivative — the DTG curve — shows when, and separates overlapping events that the mass curve alone smears into a single slope. Two decomposition processes a few tens of degrees apart appear as one long step in TG and as two clean peaks in DTG.

Fig. 1 — Schematic TG and DTG traces for a filled polymer compound. Each DTG peak locates a distinct process; each TG step quantifies it. Switching the purge from nitrogen to air part-way through the ramp is what separates combustible carbon from non-combustible inorganic residue.

Getting that resolution out of a real sample depends on things that never appear in a headline specification: a furnace that lifts and lowers to a repeatable position so the buoyancy correction stays valid, a three-way valve that switches atmosphere without a pressure transient, and a balance quiet enough that a 0.1 µg feature is signal rather than noise.

Technical data

Specifications

The four models share one thermobalance and differ in furnace ceiling — from 1150 °C for polymers and pharmaceuticals up to 1550 °C for ceramics, refractories and mineral work.

Temperature

Temperature range	TGA-1 RT – 1150 °C TGA-2 RT – 1250 °C TGA-3 RT – 1450 °C TGA-4 RT – 1550 °C
Temperature accuracy	±0.1 °C
Heating rate	0.1 – 100 °C/min
Furnace	Controlled automatic lifting, repeatable positioning

Thermobalance

Measurement range	1 – 200 mg (customisable to 5 g)
Resolution	0.1 µg
Thermogravimetric noise	< 0.1 µg
Vacuum	2.5 × 10⁻² Pa (with vacuum unit)

Atmosphere, coupling & crucibles

Atmosphere system	Flow controller with three-way valve for stable switching between inert, oxidising and reducing gas
Thermostatic control system	RT – 400 °C transfer line · TGA-GC, TGA-MS, TGA-FTIR
Sample pans	Ceramic 0.06 mL / 0.12 mL · Platinum 0.06 mL
Analysis	TG / DTG / DDTG with user-definable calculations, screenshot capture and automatic signal-range adjustment

Figures correspond to the current Resment TGA datasheet. Confirm the exact configuration and accessory set at the time of quotation.

Typical use

Where TGA earns its place

Rubber compound analysis Filler & carbon-black content Polymer thermal stability Hydrate & solvate characterisation Catalyst coking & regeneration Ash content in coal & biomass Refractory & mineral decomposition Coating burn-off

Need the mass loss and the thermal event together?

If you are trying to tell a melt from a decomposition, a simultaneous thermal analyser records both signals on the same specimen in one run.

Look at STA