Polymer total dissolved solids vessel

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.

What is claimed is: 
     
         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.