Gas Chromatography (GC) Analysis Services
Gas Chromatography (GC) Analysis Working Principle:
Chromatography is a technique that separates components in a mixture due to differences in partitioning behavior between mobile and stationary phases. Gas chromatography (GC) is one of the common chromatographic techniques for separating volatile compounds or substances. The mobile phase is a gas, such as helium, and the stationary phase is a high-boiling liquid adsorbed on a solid.
First, the sample is introduced into an inert gas or carrier stream, usually helium or argon. Liquid samples must be vaporized before injection into the carrier. Sample components move through a packed column at a rate that is influenced by the degree of interaction of each component with the fixed non-volatile phase. Substances that interact more strongly with the stationary phase are retarded and separated from those that interact less. Once the components elute from the column, they can be quantified and/or collected by a detector for further analysis.
Common Uses of Gas Chromatography Analysis:
- Determination of purity of a particular substance.
- Separating the different components of a mixture.
- Routine analysis.
- Research or analyze the compounds in different samples.
Advantages of Gas Chromatography Analysis:
- GC’s efficiency allows complex mixtures’ components to be separated in a reasonable amount of time.
- Gas chromatography is highly selective and can analyze azeotropes and samples with similar boiling points.
- Free control of operating parameters such as temperature programming, carrier gas flow, and split ratio adjustment helps resolve nearby peaks.
- Gas chromatography is simple and automated. It offers rapid data analysis with relatively high accuracy, precision, and reproducible results.
- Operating parameters such as flow rate, temperature, and pressure can also be easily changed during a chromatographic run.
Limitations:
- Gas chromatography can only analyze helium/hydrogen volatile compounds with a molecular weight of around 1250u. The high temperatures of the GC may degrade thermally labile compounds.
Industrial Applications:
- Pharmaceuticals
- Chemical industries
- Petroleum industries
