High Inlet Pressure Micro Column System for Use in Gas

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High Inlet Pressure Micro Column System for Use in Gas Chromatography M. N. MYERS and J. C. GlDDlNGS Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt lake City, Utah A new chromatographic system has been developed which combines the advantages of high pressures, small particles, and small column diameters. Approximately 15 columns packed with various materials have been studied with inlet pressures to 2500 p.s.i. and particle size to less than one micron. Plate heights as low as 0.082 mm. (using 13-micron particles) have been obtained; these values are much lower than those previously reported for gas solid systems.

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CONSIDERATIONS by Knox (5) and this group (2) have indicated that a great potential in speed and efficiency exists for chromatographic columns using very fine particles and high pressures. The practical problems of exploiting this potential are very numerous. I n addition to the development of a high pressure technology, complete with high speed valving arrangements, there are problems connected with effectively packing fine materials into columns, with reducing stationary phase mass transfer effects, etc. This paper reports the first known attempt to utilize a combined high pressure-small particle approach to gas chromatography [earlier papers described the use of high pressures (Y), to 2500 p.s.i. and preliminary results (3) by the authors on combining small (7 micron) particles nith these pressures]. Pressures up to 2500 p.s.i. have been used with particles as small as 0.5 micron--extremes that vary 50- or 100-fold from conventional gas chromatography. In the course of this work a new chromatographic system has evolved. We term this the high inlet pressure micro column system (HIPMC system), This is a system which not only operates a t tank pressures and has particles in the “sub-sieve” range (