Chromatography phases

Along the same lines, a distillation can be simulated by gas phase chromatography. As in a refinery, distillation in the laboratory is very often the first step to be carried out, because it gives the yields in different cuts gasoline, kerosene, etc., and makes further characterization of the cuts possible. 

Gas phase chromatography is a separation method in which the molecules are split between a stationary phase, a heavy solvent, and a mobile gas phase called the carrier gas. The separation takes place in a column containing the heavy solvent which can have the following forms ... 

The simulated distillation method uses gas phase chromatography in conjunction with an apolar column, that is, a column where the elution of components is a function of their boiling points. The column temperature is increased at reproducible rate (programed temperature) and the area of the chromatogram is recorded as a function of elution time. 

In practice, simulated distillation by gas phase chromatography is used for the following objectives ... 

Finally, other methods are used to obtain simulated distillation by gas phase chromatography for atmospheric or vacuum residues. For these cases, some of the sample components can not elute and an internal standard is added to the sample in order to obtain this quantity with precision. 

Liquid chromatography, having a resolving power generally less than that of gas phase chromatography, is often employed when the latter cannot be used, as in the case of samples containing heat-sensitive or low vapor-pressure compounds. 

Note that in liquid phase chromatography there are no detectors that are both sensitive and universal, that is, which respond linearly to solute concentration regardless of its chemical nature. In fact, the refractometer detects all solutes but it is not very sensitive its response depends evidently on the difference in refractive indices between solvent and solute whereas absorption and UV fluorescence methods respond only to aromatics, an advantage in numerous applications. Unfortunately, their coefficient of response (in ultraviolet, absorptivity is the term used) is highly variable among individual components. 

Liquid phase chromatography can use a supercritical fluid as an eluent. The solvent evaporates on leaving the column and allows detection by FID. At present, there are few instances in the petroleum industry using the supercritical fluid technique. 

The material to be analyzed is pyrolyzed in an inert gas at 1100°C in the presence of carbon the carbon monoxide formed, if any, is either analyzed directly by chromatography or analyzed as carbon dioxide after oxidation by CuO. The CO2 is detected by infra-red spectrometry or by gas phase chromatography. 

Analysis of such cuts by spectrometry requires a preliminary separation by chemical constituents. The separation is generally done by liquid phase chromatography described in article 3.3.5. 

As the temperatures of the distillation cuts increase, the problems get more complicated to the point where preliminary separations are required that usually involve liquid phase chromatography (described earlier). This provides, among others, a saturated fraction and an aromatic fraction. Mass spectrometry is then used for each of these fractions. 

This is an analysis frequently conducted on oil lubricants. Generally, the additive is known and its concentration can be followed by direct comparison of the oil with additive and the base stock. For example, concentrations of a few ppm of dithiophosphates or phenols are obtained with an interferometer. However, additive oils today contain a large number of products their identification or their analysis by IR spectrometry most often requires preliminary separation, either by dialysis or by liquid phase chromatography. 

Chromatographic techniques, particularly gas phase chromatography, are used throughout all areas of the petroleum industry research centers, quality control laboratories and refining units. The applications covered are very diverse and include gas composition, search and analysis of contaminants, monitoring production units, feed and product analysis. We will show but a few examples in this section to give the reader an idea of the potential, and limits, of chromatographic techniques. 

Analysis of Permanent Gases and Noncondensable Hydrocarbons by Gas Phase Chromatography... 

It is not possible to present all special detectors used in gas phase chromatography, but instead we will mention some recent applications. 

Other techniques for predicting the cetane number rely on chemical analysis (Glavinceski et al., 1984) (Pande et al., 1990). Gas phase chromatography can be used, as can NMR or even mass spectrometry (refer to 3.2.1.l.b and 3.2.2.2). 

Example of an analysis of exhaust gas by gas phase chromatography and j relative reactivity of effluents with respect to tropospheric ozone formation. I... 

The aromaUc extracts are sought mainly tor their solvent power. They are characterized particularly by componential analyses such as the separation according to hydrocarbon family by liquid phase chromatography. 

More information has appeared concerning the nature of the side reactions, such as acetoxylation, which occur when certain methylated aromatic hydrocarbons are treated with mixtures prepared from nitric acid and acetic anhydride. Blackstock, Fischer, Richards, Vaughan and Wright have provided excellent evidence in support of a suggested ( 5.3.5) addition-elimination route towards 3,4-dimethylphenyl acetate in the reaction of o-xylene. Two intermediates were isolated, both of which gave rise to 3,4-dimethylphenyl acetate in aqueous acidic media and when subjected to vapour phase chromatography. One was positively identified, by ultraviolet, infra-red, n.m.r., and mass spectrometric studies, as the compound (l). The other was less stable and less well identified, but could be (ll). 

An important application of these results lies in the analysis of food flavorings using a combination of gas-phase chromatography and mass spectrometry (121, 122). Similarly, metabolic products of chlo-methiazole have been characterized (123). 

Analytical chemistry has in recent years been equipped with a number of powerful means of investigation. Their application, especially that of gas-phase chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer, has demonstrated the presence of a certain number of thiazoles in natural products such as fruits or cereals (287. 288, 297). The many results are shown in Table III-59. 

In reverse-phase chromatography, which is the more commonly encountered form of HPLC, the stationary phase is nonpolar and the mobile phase is polar. The most common nonpolar stationary phases use an organochlorosilane for which the R group is an -octyl (Cg) or -octyldecyl (Cig) hydrocarbon chain. Most reverse-phase separations are carried out using a buffered aqueous solution as a polar mobile phase. Because the silica substrate is subject to hydrolysis in basic solutions, the pH of the mobile phase must be less than 7.5. 

Kovat s retention index (p. 575) liquid-solid adsorption chromatography (p. 590) longitudinal diffusion (p. 560) loop injector (p. 584) mass spectrum (p. 571) mass transfer (p. 561) micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (p. 606) micelle (p. 606) mobile phase (p. 546) normal-phase chromatography (p. 580) on-column injection (p. 568) open tubular column (p. 564) packed column (p. 564) peak capacity (p. 554)... 

Reversed-phase chromatography is widely used as an analytical tool for protein chromatography, but it is not as commonly found on a process scale for protein purification because the solvents which make up the mobile phase, ie, acetonitrile, isopropanol, methanol, and ethanol, reversibly or irreversibly denature proteins. Hydrophobic interaction chromatography appears to be the least common process chromatography tool, possibly owing to the relatively high costs of the salts used to make up the mobile phases. 

Distribution Coefficients. Gel-permeation stationary-phase chromatography normally exhibits symmetrical (Gaussian) peaks because the partitioning of the solute between mobile and stationary phases is linear. Criteria more sophisticated than those represented in Figure 8 are seldom used (34). 

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