GAS

CHROMATOGRAPHY

(GC)
SAIMA ALEEM.
M.PHIL.
Course no CHM -754.
COURSE SUPERVISOR: DR RAHAT

GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
Gas chromatography is one of the most versatile and ubiquitous
analytical techniques in the laboratory. It is widely used for the
determination of organic compounds.
Complex mixtures can be separate by this technique.
A gas chromatography is a chemical analysis instrument for separating
chemicals in a complex sample.
A gas chromatograph uses a flow-through narrow tube known as
the column, through which different chemical constituents of a sample
pass in a gas stream (carrier gas, mobile phase) at different rates.
It depending on their various chemical and physical properties and their
interaction with a specific column filling called the stationary phase.
As the chemicals exit the end of the column, they are detected and
identified electronically. The function of the stationary phase in the
column is to separate different components, causing each one to exit the
column at a different time (retention time).
Other parameters that can be used to alter the order or time of
retention are the carrier gas flow rate, column length and the
temperature.

Gas chromatography
In a GC analysis, a known volume of gaseous or liquid analyte is injected
into the "entrance" (head) of the column, usually using a
microsyringe (or, solid phase microextraction fibers, or a gas source
switching system).
As the carrier gas sweeps the analyte molecules through the column,
this motion is inhibited by the adsorption of the
analyte molecules either onto the column walls or onto packing
materials in the column.
The rate at which the molecules progress along the column depends on
the strength of adsorption, which in turn depends on the type of
molecule and on the stationary phase materials.
Since each type of molecule has a different rate of progression, the
various components of the analyte mixture are separated as they
progress along the column and reach the end of the column at different
times (retention time). A detector is used to monitor the outlet stream from the

column.
The time at which each component reaches the outlet and the amount of that
component can be determined.
AUTO SAMPLER

The auto sampler provides the means to introduce a sample automatically into the
inlets.

Manual insertion of the sample is possible but is no longer common. Automatic

insertion provides better reproducibility and time-optimization.
Different kinds of auto samplers exist. Auto samplers can be classified in
relation to sample capacity (auto-injectors vs. auto samplers, where
auto-injectors can work a small number of samples), to robotic
technologies (XYZ robot vs. rotating robot the most common), or to
analysis:

Liquid.
Static head-space by syringe technology.
Dynamic head-space by transfer-line technology.
Solid phase micro extraction (SPME).
CARRIER GAS

 In gas chromatography Helium, nitrogen, Hydrogen or argon gases are

used as a carrier gas.
The choice of gas is depend upon availability, purity required,
consumption and the type of detector employed.
Helium is preferred, when thermal conductivity detectors are used.
Because of it high thermal conductivity relative to that of the vapours of
most organic compounds.
SAFETY
Free standing gas cylinder must always be supported by means of
clamps or chains.
Waste gases, especially hydrogen, must be vented through an extraction
hood.
INJECTORS
Packed Column Injectors
In general, the sample injected onto a packed GC column ranges in
volume from 0.5 micro liters to 5 micro liter and usually contains the
materials of interest at concentrations ranging from 5% v/v to 10%
w/v.

A Pack column injector

The sample is injected by a hypodermic syringe, through a silicone
rubber septum directly into the column packing or into a flash heater.
Although the latter tends to produce broader peaks it also disperses the
sample radially across the column.
Direct injection into the packing constrains the sample into a small
volume, but can cool the front of the packing.
The silicone septum is compressed between metal surfaces in such a
manner that a hypodermic needle can pierce it, but when it is
withdrawn the hole is closed as a result of the septum compression and
there is no gas leak.
The glass liner prevents the sample coming in contact with the heated
metal wall and thus, reduces the chance of thermal decomposition. The
glass liner can be fitted with a separate heater and the volatalization
temperature can, thus, be controlled. This "flash heater" system is
available in most chromatographs.

By using a syringe with a long needle, the tip can be made to penetrate
past the liner and discharge its contents directly into the column
packing.
This procedure is called 'on-column injection' and, as it reduces peak
dispersion on injection and thus, provides higher column efficiencies, is
often the preferred procedure.
Open Tubular Column Injection Systems
Due to the very small sample size that must be placed on narrow bore
capillary columns; a split injection system is necessary.

 As the sample passes the column opening, a small fraction is split off
and flows directly into the capillary column are called a split injector.
Regulating the portion of the carrier gas that passes to waste changes
the split ratio. This achieved by an adjustable flow resistance situated in
the waste flow line. This device is only used for small diameter capillary
columns where the charge size is critical.
The device has certain disadvantages due to component differentiation
and the sample placed on the column may not be truly representative.
The solutes with the higher diffusivities (low molecular weight) are lost
preferentially to those with lower diffusivities (higher molecular
weights). Consequently, quantitative analyses carried out using the high
efficiency small diameter capillary columns may have limited accuracy
and precision, depending on the nature of the sample.

The Split Injection System

This problem was partially solved by using larger diameter
columns that would permit on-column injection.

 There are also difficulties associated with this type of

injector. On injection, the sample breaks up into separate
portions, and bubbles form at the beginning of the column
causing the sample to be deposited at different positions
along the open tube as the solvent evaporates.
On starting to develop the separation, each local
concentration of sample acts as a separate injection.
Column
The actual components is effected in the Column
Where the nature of the solid support, type and amount of liquid phase,
method of packing length and temperature are important factor in
obtaining the desired resolution.
The Column is enclosed in a thermostatically controlled oven so that its
temperature is held constant to within 0.5 C. Thus ensuring
reproducible conditions.
The operating temperature may range from ambient to over 400 C and
for isothermal operation is kept constant during the separation process.
Type of Column
1. Packed columns
The internal diameter of Column is 2-6 mm.
The outer diameter of Column is 3-10 mm and it is coil for compactness

Packed columns
Qualities of the packed column
Glass column must be used if any of the sample components are
decompose by compact with metal.
The material chosen as a inaet support should be uniform granular size
and capable of being packed in to a uniform bed in a column.
The surface area of the material should be large so as to promote
distribution of the liquid phase as a film and ensure the rapid
attainment of equilibrium between the stationary phase and mobile
phase.

The most commonly used supports(e.g celite) are made from

diatomaceous materials which can hold liquid phases in amounts

exceeding 20% without becoming too sticky to flow freely and can be
easily packed.
To be a good resolution the height is equivalent of the theoretical plate
is proportion to the average particle diameter.
Rapidly increase the pressure due to decrease the particle size.
It is necessary to increase the pressure for achieving the flow rate
through the column
Open columns
These capillary columns (i.d < 1mm) are increasingly used in GLC.
It is used for complex mixtures.
This result from a highly theoretical plate numbers which can be attain
with long column of this type for the relatively smaller pressure drop.
In these capillary columns the stationary phase s coated on the inner
wall of the tube,

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Here 2 types of capillaries are available.

1. Wall coated open tubular
Here the stationary phase is directly coated on the inner wall of tubing.
2. Supported coated open tubular

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 It have finely divided layer of solid support material deposited on the

inner wall of the stationary phase is then coated

Supported coated open tubular is less efficient then wall coated open
tubular.

Capillary column are made up of thin wall stainless steel.

The dimension of the column, which is coiled, is 25- 200 m long and 0.20.5mm i.d.
The drawback of this column is that they have low sample capacity than
pack column.
DETECTOR
The choice of detector will depend the concentration level of the
sample.
The important properties of a detector are as follows

1. SENSITIVITY

This is usually defined as the detector response (mV) per unit

concentration of analyte (mg/ml).

It is closely related to the detection limit.

Since high sensitivity often give low limit of detection.
The limit of detection will be rises if the detector produced noise.
The sensitivity also determines the slop of calibration graph and
therefore influences the precision of the analysis.
2 . Linearity

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 The linear range of the detector refer to the concentration range over
which the signal is directly proportional to the concentration of analyte.
Linearity in detector response will give linearity of the calibration graph
and allow later to be drawn with more certainty.
With the convex calibration curved, the precision is reduced at higher
concentrations where the slope of the curved is much lesser.
The high linearity range has high advantage but detector small range
will be used because of their other qualities, although they will need to
be recalibrated over a number of difference concentration ranges.
3. Stability
The important characteristic of a detector is the extent to which the
signal output remains constant with time, assuming there is a constant
input.
Lack of the stability can be exhibited in to two ways.
1. Baseline noise.
2. Drift.
1 .Baseline noise.
Baseline noise is caused by a rapid random variation in detector output
difficult to measure small peaks against the fluctuation background.
2 .Drift
Drift is often due to factors external to the detector and impose a more
fundamental limit on its performance, such as temperature change or
column bleed and so is controllable, where as noise is usually due to
poor contacts within detector and impose a more fundamental limit on
its performance.
It must be reproducible
TYPE OF DETECTOR

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Thermal conductivity detector

The most important of the bulk physical property detector is a thermal

conductivity detector which is universal, nondestructive, concentration
sensitive detector. It is still widely used in gas chromatography.

Helium and hydrogen are the best carrier gases to use in conjunction
with this type of detector. Since their thermal conductivity are much
higher than the other gases.

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Thermal Conductivity Detector (TCD)

In the detector 2 pair of match filaments are arranged in a Wheatstone

bridge circuit, 2 filaments is opposite arm of the bridge is surrounded by
the carrier gas only.

The other 2 are surrounded by the effluent from the chromatographic

column.

There are 2 types of gas channels through the cell.

1. Sample channels.
2. Reference channels.

When the pure carrier gas is pass over both the Sample and reference
filaments the bridge is balanced but when the vapours emerges from
the column, the rate of cooling of the sample filament become changed
and the bridge become unbalanced.
It is used for the detection limit of permanent gases light hydrocarbon
and compound which response poorly from the flame ionization
detector.

It is used for the gas chromatography studies of metal chelates, e.g

mixture of beryllium, aluminium, gallium and indium
trifluoroacethyacetonates. For many general applications it is replaced
by Flame ionization detector.
Ionisation detector

An important characteristic of the common carrier gases is that they

behave as perfect insulators at normal temperature and pressures .The
increase conductivity due to the presence of a few charge molecules in
the effluent from the column thus provide the high sensitivity which is a
feather of the ionisation based detector.
Ionisation detector in current used include the flame ionisation
detector, thermionic ionisation detector, photo ionisation detector and

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election capture detector each of course employing a different method

to generate an ion current.
The basis of this detector is that the effluent from the column is mixed
with hydrogen and burned in air to produce a flame which has sufficient
energy to ionize solute molecules having low Ionisation potential.

Flame Ionisation detector

The ion produced are collect at electrodes and a result ion current
measured.
The burner jet is the negative electrode whilst the anode is usually wire
or grid extending into the tip of the flame. Because the sample is destroy
in the flame.

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 A stream-splitting device is inserted between the column and detector

and allows the bulk of the sample to by-pass the detector.
It is widely applicable for gas chromatography of organic compounds.
It has high sensitivity, stability, fast response and linearly response with
analytes.
Electron capture detector
Most ionisation detectors are based on measurement of the increase in
current which occur when a more readily ionised molecule appears in
the gas stream.
the Electron capture detector is differ from the other ionisation
detectors .it exploits the recombination phenomenon, based on Electron
capture by compound having affinity for free electron .it only measure
the decrease in current.

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Electron capture detector

A beta rays is used to generate slow electron by ionisation of the carrier
gas (nitrogen preferred) flowing through the detector.
The slowly electron migrate to the anode under a fixed potential and
give rise to a steady baseline current
When the electron capturing gas is emerges from the column. It will
react with electron by a negative ion of much higher mass with a
corresponding reduction in current flow.
It response due to electron affinity of the eluate molecules. Being
sensitive to compound containing halogens, sulphur, anhydrides,
nitrites, conjugated carbonyls, nitrates and organo metallic compounds.
It has high sensitivity.
Element sensitive detector
Element sensitive detector in current used includes Thermionic
Ionisation detector, Flame photometric detector and atomic
absorption detector.

Thermionic Ionisation detector

It only response to nitrogen containing compound and phosphorus.
It contains an electrically heated rubidium silicate bead situated a few
millimeters above the detector jet tip and below the collector electrode.
The temperature of beat is maintained at 600-800 degree centigrade.
Flame photometric detector
It only response to sulphur and phosphorus.
Hydrogen rich flame results in the formation of luminescent species
that emit light character of the heteroatom introduced in to the flame.
When nitrogen is carrier gas, it can be used.
Hydrogen is introduced at the burner to initiate combustion.
Atomic absorption spectroscopy
It is used for the separation of organo metallic compound.

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TYPES OF CHROMATOGRAPHY
Gas solid (adsorption) chromatography.
Gas liquid (partition) chromatography.
The most important one of the two is gas liquid chromatography, used
in the foam of capillary column.
GAS-LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY
In gas-liquid chromatography, the mobile phase is a gas such as helium
and the stationary phase is a high boiling point liquid absorbed onto a
solid.

A flow scheme for gas-liquid

chromatography

Injection of the sample

Very small quantities of the sample that you are trying to analyses
are injected into the machine using a small syringe. The syringe
needle passes through a thick rubber disc (known as a septum)
which reveals itself again when the syringe is pulled out.
The injector is contained in an oven whose temperature can be
controlled. It is hot enough so that all the sample boils and is
carried into the column as a gas by the helium (or other carrier
gas).

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Column: packed Column.

Retention time
The time taken for a particular compound to travel through the
column to the detector is known as its retention time. This time is
measured from the time at which the sample is injected to the
point at which the display shows a maximum peak height for that
compound.
Different compounds have different retention times. For a
particular compound, the retention time will vary depending on
the boiling point of the compound.

A compound which boils at a temperature higher than the column

temperature is going to spend nearly all of its time condensed as a
liquid at the beginning of the column. So high boiling point means a
long retention time.

The solubility in the liquid phase. The more soluble a compound is

in the liquid phase, the less time it will spend being carried. along
by the gas. High solubility in the liquid phase means a high
retention time.
The temperature of the column. A higher temperature will tend to
excite molecules into the gas phase - either because they evaporate
more readily, or because they are so energetic that the attractions
of the liquid no longer hold them.

A high column temperature shortens retention times for

everything in the column.

The lower the temperature of the column, the better the

separation.
Detector
There are several different types of detector is use.

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 The flame ionisation detector described below is commonly used

and is easier to describe and explain than the alternatives.
GAS SOLID CHOROMATOGRAPHY
Comprises all gas chromatographic methods in which the
stationary is an active solid (e.g. charcoal, molecular
sieves).Separation is achieved by adsorption of the components of
a sample.
The retention time is long, due to which it is less used then gas
liquid chromatography.

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