Two XEMIS Gravimetric Microbalances


A student working in the lab

The XEMIS system is designed for studying a variety of applications including gas sorption analysis, kinetic analysis, hydrogen and methane storage, carbon dioxide sequestration, natural gas separation, and purification. The system was designed by Hiden Isochema Engineers with Exosensing technology which allows operation with corrosive and flammable gases over a broad range in pressure from 0 to 170 bar (2500 psi). The symmetric geometry of the system provides high precision and minimizes the buoyancy effects during the measurements. The various thermostat options (furnace, water bath, cryo cooling) allow measurements over a wide range in temperature from -196°C to 1000°C. The system can handle both solid and liquid samples with a maximum weight of 5 g. The measurement capacity from 0 – 200 mg has an accuracy of 0.2 μg. A safety interlock system has been designed which allows for continuous unattended operation. The second XEMIS microbalance is also set up with a first-of-a-kind multi-component sorption analysis module (MSAM). The KU Institute for Sustainable Engineering is the only academic lab in the United States that has a XEMIS gravimetric microbalance with the Integrated Mass Balance ( IMB) method for measuring sorption with gas mixtures.