Kinetica, Inc. offers a commercial sample testing service for Differential Scanning  Calorimetry (DSC). The technique of DSC  involves recording the energy necessary to establish a zero temperature difference between a substance and a reference material against either time or temperature as each specimen is subjected to an identical temperature program.  The ordinate value at any time or temperature is related to the difference in heat flow between a standard sample and the unknown; this is related to the kinetics of the process. Integration of the area under the heat flow curve yields the enthalpy change associated with the thermal event of interest.

This service provides a cost-effective method for obtaining kinetic and thermodynamic data for condensed phase phenomena. Observable processes include simple phase transitions, characterization of polymorphism, the kinetics and thermochemistry for a variety of complex reactions.

Thermodynamic data for pure substances include melting and boiling points, heat capacity, heat of fusion, heat of solution, and heat of vaporization. Examples of complex processes include oxidation of organic compounds, fuels and carbon combustion, polymerization and resin curing reactions, explosives and pyrotechnic decomposition, and thermite reactions.  ASTM protocol is utilized whenever possible. Some of the applicable procedures are listed in the table insert