Flame ionization and superheated water Herald new possibilities for the separation of challenging compounds

Citation

(2005), "Flame ionization and superheated water Herald new possibilities for the separation of challenging compounds", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 34 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.2005.12934dab.001

Flame ionization and superheated water Herald new possibilities for the separation of challenging compounds

Flame ionization and superheated water Herald new possibilities for the separation of challenging compounds

Keywords: Measurement, Testing and instruments

Temperature programmed liquid chromatography (TPLC) specialist, Selerity Technologies Inc. has shown that its Aquachrom™ oven facilitates the development of a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique for the analysis of non-UV absorbing compounds such as glycols and alcohols. The Aquachrom, the most environmentally-friendly instrument of its kind, overcomes the lack of sensitive universal detection in HPLC by using a flame ionization detector (FID) and superheated water as the mobile phase suited to these types of separations.

Traditionally, the analysis of alcohol and glycols has been difficult to achieve. Alcohols such as ethanol and methanol have no chromophores, meaning that they cannot be analyzed via traditional HPLC methods. Analyzing glycols is also extremely difficult because they are polar compounds. Furthermore, they have a very high boiling point and are only soluble in alcohol and water. This makes them ideal candidates for superheated water analysis.

The most commonly used method for the analysis of high concentrations of glycols in water is the direct injection of the water samples into a gas chromatograph (GC) equipped with a FID. Selerity Technologies has applied the principles of gas chromatography theory to develop the Aquachrom™. Using this instrument, glycols and alcohol can now be analyzed by using temperature programming with the FID and pure water. Water presents an attractive mobile phase for these types of separations because it shows no significant response in the FID and has the added benefit of being an environmentally friendly solvent.

The Aquachrom™ TPLC oven is uniquely equipped with a FID and mobile phase preheater and is capable of isothermal and temperature programming operation. There is the option of using 1.0 or 2.1 mm columns. This platform revolutionizes the ability to eliminate the use of organic solvents in TPLC, achieving environmentally friendly and sensitive HPLC analysis. It also contains a spacious oven cavity, meaning that the instrument can accommodate custom configurations such as heated injectors and detectors other than the FID. This ensures its complete versatility and flexibility.

For more information about the Aquachrom™ or Selerity's range of TPLC instrumentation, please visit www.selerity.com or e-mail: sales@selerity.com.