Kuivmassi

Kuivmassi, often translated as dry mass, refers to the portion of a material that remains after all water has been removed. It represents the true mass of non-volatile constituents and is used to compare samples with differing moisture contents. The dry mass is typically determined by drying a sample in an oven at a specified temperature until a constant weight is reached, most commonly 105°C for 24 hours, in accordance with standard proximate analysis methods. Alternative methods include freeze-drying or the use of moisture analyzers that estimate water loss in real time.

The dry-mass fraction is calculated as the mass of the dried sample divided by the original mass, usually expressed as a percentage. In nutrition, agriculture, and bioprocessing, components such as protein, fat, and carbohydrates are often reported on a dry-matter basis to enable meaningful comparisons across samples with different moisture contents.

Applications include evaluating forage quality, cereal grain composition, food labeling, and substrate characterization in fermentation or biogas processes. In soil science and environmental studies, dry mass is used to quantify biomass and organic matter content independent of moisture.

Limitations include loss or transformation of volatile constituents during drying, potential incomplete removal of water if the method is inadequate, and equipment-related variability. Proper method selection and drying conditions are essential to obtain reproducible results.

See also: moisture content, oven-drying, proximate analysis, dry matter basis.