Parameters for Assessing the Quality of a Separation

Having optimised the efficiency of a chromatographic separation the quality of the chromatography can be controlled by applying certain system suitability tests. One of these is the calculation of theoretical plates for a column and there are two other main parameters for assessing performance peak symmetry and the resolution between critical pairs of peaks. A third performance test, the peak purity parameter, can be applied where two-dimensional detectors such as diode or coulometric array or mass spectrometry detectors are being used. The reproducibility of peak retention times is also an important parameter for controlling performance. 

Further analysis is also necessary for the manufacturing processes as they are implemented in industry. The principal methods used in laboratories may deviate considerably from large-scale industrial procedures for a variety of reasons. On one hand, there is of course the necessity to reduce costs, often at the expense of quality, which may also be coupled to inferior qualities of raw materials with a different environmental footprint (both positive or negative, depending on the circumstances). On the other hand, some processes cannot be implemented under conditions of large-scale manufacturing, whether for reasons of a low speed of the process, unfulfillable requirements to process parameter control, or simply size restrictions. Therefore, the exact setting of an industrial productirai will have to be analyzed and assessed for every manufacturer separately, unless specific standardized processes estabhsh themselves in SOFC industry. 

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