What is a drying oven? A quick guide

Drying oven uses in laboratory are fairly unknown to some. Also, what is a drying oven? In this article we will answer this question.

Created by Memmert GmbH & Co.KG

This article aims to be a quick and easy guide on a drying oven. Drying oven uses in laboratory are fairly unknown to some. Also, what is a drying oven? Today, we figure it out together. If you look around your workplace, perhaps it’s a microbiology lab, a chemistry lab, or electronics component research lab. 

These drying ovens being diverse, even in a pharmacy lab equipment list, researchers are likely to come across it. If you are searching for food related answers and stumbled upon this page, maybe it was meant to be. It is quite interesting though.

For further details, read the heating and drying ovens brochure.

What is a drying oven?

Essentially, a drying oven seen in labs, or in TV shows using them as props, is a great device for moisture removal. The moisture removed from the oven chamber helps sample drying to take place.

How does a drying oven work?

We talked about moisture removal. We talked about heat above. Here’s how it all comes together:

  1. The chamber load faces defined temperatures at atmospheric pressure in the chamber
  2. By way of natural, or forced convection, and radiation, thermal energy enters the chamber load. For example, the drying oven Memmert UF 110 follows forced air circulation
  3. Complete surface heating system assists from rear of the interior walls
  4. With higher temperatures and drier air, the drying occurs much faster
  5. The simultaneous drying and heating laboratory oven function causes drying of the samples inside

Oven drying method with air circulation

Oven drying method with air circulation.
Thermogravimetric principle found in oven drying method in a drying oven and heating oven

Thermogravimetric principle found in oven drying method. Courtesy of SGS Institut Fresenius.

Oven drying method in a drying oven

This helps in measuring the moisture content of the sample. This method is for the measurement for thermogravimetric analysis where liquid content and content volatile substances gets determined by mass.

  1. A precisely weighed sample get exposed for a defined drying time for a certain temperature value.
  2. The resulting drying loss is found by weighing again
  3. The moisture content is found as a percentage value

The oven drying method is used for determining the humidity content of fuel, grain or food material.

Going back to our introduction where asked what are the drying oven uses in laboratory? – finally, the time has come to show the scope of the laboratory oven function.

More elaboration on the science behind drying ovens, <link contact inquiries-form>get in touch!

Uses of drying oven

A heating or drying oven can be seen in several applications as follows.
  1. In pharmaceutical, food (such as rambutan drying) and agriculture industries, environmental technology, and forestry for determining dry content and humidity content. Oven drying method is key to it like the determination of the moisture content of milk powder
  2. In electronics for drying components, degassing epoxy resins, and for burn-in testing
  3. In research for sample preparation
  4. Chemistry research such as determining optimal acid hydrolysis time
  5. Ageing or tempering of plastics, metals
  6. Stability testing in the food industry
  7. Heated storage of building materials, plastics, components 
  8. Heating of surgical cloths, blankets, rinsing solutions, infusion solutions etc. in clinics and hospitals

For more information, here is an infographic on features of a vacuum oven.

About heating and drying ovens by Memmert

But sticking to the topic at hand, Memmert ovens come from one of the leading laboratory supply companies offering devices as microbiology equipments, common apparatus used in chemistry lab, among others.

Ask your laboratory equipment distributor or reach out to Memmert for further information.

Memmert GmbH + Co.KG offers the following drying ovens which come with unique features catering to certain requirements by the user.

  1. Universal oven U – helps with material tests, aging of computer chips, run complex experiments with highly sensitive loads, drying or tempering electronic components, hardening plastic resin or heating plasticine
  2. Pass-through oven UF TS – optimum material lock between the grey room and the cleanroom in the electronics and semiconductor, medicine or pharmaceutics industry
  3. Paraffin oven UNpa – specially designed for absolutely reliable sample preparation
  4. Vacuum Oven VO – drying of powders, granulates or electronic components
The exterior of the Memmert drying oven, Universal oven U model UF260 is a common apparatus used in chemistry lab.

A Memmert drying oven, UF260 (Universal oven).
Keep an eye out for Memmert oven innovation and the overall product range offering temperature and climate control solutions through climate chambers and incubators. In fact, these are third party tested for superior energy efficiency in the market. There’s also water baths and medical devices, like blanket warmers, sterilizers and incubators, to learn about.