9 Ways To Keep Your Headspace Sampler Growing Without Burning The Midnight Oil
Gas purifiers are essential because they help in providing a clean gas stream, that may guarantee the quality of the gas chromatographic analysis and the reliability of the outcomes. Further, such gas purifiers minimize detector noise and prolong the life of the column. Gas purifiers are like insurance policies to protect the instrumentation and other analytical columns from several types of contaminants. Still, the gas purifiers will never be in a position to convert low purity gases into high purity gases. For this reason important factor, it is necessary to select the proper grade of gases with different purity levels for proper used in gas chromatographic applications.
headspace sampler of Right Gas Purifier to Suit Your Applications
Numerous kinds of gas purifiers can be purchased in the market. While some gas purifiers remove just one specific contaminant, other styles remove multiple contaminants simultaneously from the gas stream. You need to think about several factors during the selection procedure for gas purifiers, taking into consideration your unique applications. These factors will include the potential contaminants present in the gas stream, the limitations on flow and pressure, degrees of gas purity required, desired convenience in replacement of spent gas traps, and space availability.
Common Traps Used in Gas Purifiers
Oxygen, hydrocarbon, carbon dioxide, and moisture traps will be the most common purifiers found in most the gas chromatography (GC) applications. Oxygen traps are usually filled with metal catalysts. Oxygen is recognized as probably the most detrimental contaminating gas in all analytical columns. Oxygen is with the capacity of producing irreversible oxidation damage, especially to polar stationary phases. Hydrocarbon traps are typically packed with activated charcoal, that may absorb organic compounds that are bigger than methane. Still, the molecular weight and size of the organic contaminants will have a definite influence on the capability of the hydrocarbon trap to a great extent but it will also think about trap efficiency somewhat.
Activated charcoal possesses a higher capacity to trap larger hydrocarbons that are greater than C4, in comparison to smaller hydrocarbons, which are lesser than C4. Moisture traps are usually filled with unique molecular sieves. When put through extensive heating, the crystalline structures are forced to reduce their hydration or water content. This opens a cavity which gets filled readily with any compound that can fit the cavity. Water fits perfectly into this cavity but this trap will also be able to remove gases like carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, and chlorine or other gases that have effective diameters lesser than water.
Process of Contaminants Affecting Gas Stream
If you wish to understand how the contaminants affect the gas stream, you must follow the road that the carrier gas takes to get into the gas chromatograph. This path is applicable for detector fuel gases also. The gases start from a gas tank or perhaps a special gas generator. The gas travels through long lengths of tubes, pressure gauges, valves, and different other fittings. Every one of these areas is a potential culprit to introduce contaminants in to the gas stream. This leads not only in degrading the outcomes of chromatography but additionally shortens the life span of the column of CG.
Major contaminants like oxygen, hydrocarbons, and moisture are capable of wreaking havoc with the columns and detectors of CG. The packed and capillary columns will get degraded easily if they face oxygen or moisture, especially at high temperatures. These contaminants will also compromise detector performance. Since the detectors actually ‘see’ these contaminants, the result is baseline noises, spikes, and drifts.
You should install gas purifiers in a vertical position as wall mounted types to avoid channeling. Channeling occurs once you install the gas purifier in a horizontal position. Gas purifiers can be found as compact panels having multiple purifiers or single panel which has multi-absorbent capabilities.