Analyzing Organic Compound Species with Hydrogen Carrier Gas

Significance of the Topic

Efficient analysis of volatile organic compounds is essential in quality control and environmental monitoring.
Using hydrogen as a carrier gas in capillary gas chromatography enables higher linear velocities and shorter analysis times.
This study illustrates how a narrow bore SH-PolarWax column with hydrogen improves throughput while maintaining resolution.

Objectives and Overview of the Study

The aim was to compare hydrogen and helium carrier gases for separating nine common organic solvents on a Shimadzu GC-2030 with FID detection.
Key targets included evaluation of separation quality, analysis speed, and operational conditions for routine laboratory use.

Methodology and Instrumentation

Instrumentation and Conditions:

• System: Shimadzu Nexis GC-2030 with AOC-20i autosampler
• Injection: Split mode, 0.5 µL volume, split ratio 1:100, injector at 260 °C
• Column: SH-Wax polar capillary (20 m × 0.10 mm i.d., 0.10 µm film thickness)
• Carrier Gas: Hydrogen or helium at constant 0.8 mL/min flow
• Temperature Program: 40 °C initial, ramp 4 °C/min to 50 °C (1 min hold), ramp 40 °C/min to 90 °C (2 min hold for He)
• Detector: Flame ionization detector at 260 °C (H2: 32 mL/min, air: 200 mL/min)
• Makeup Gas: N2 (24 mL/min) with H2 carrier; He (24 mL/min) with He carrier

Sample Composition:
Nine solvents at 1 vol%: acetone, ethyl acetate, isopropyl alcohol, methyl isobutyl ketone, toluene, butyl acetate, 2-hexanone, propylene glycol monomethyl ether, n-butanol.

Main Results and Discussion

Complete baseline separation of all nine compounds was achieved.
Using hydrogen carrier gas reduced total analysis time to approx. 6 min, compared to about 10 min with helium, without loss of resolution.
Higher optimal linear velocity with hydrogen improved peak shapes and throughput.
The rapid oven program and narrow bore column contributed to sharp peaks and efficient separations.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Increased sample throughput due to shorter runtimes
• Reduced gas consumption and operational costs
• Sustained resolution suitable for routine QA/QC of solvent mixtures
• Compatibility with existing GC-FID setups after minor method adjustments

Future Trends and Potential Applications

• Integration of hydrogen carrier into green analytical protocols
• Extension to complex environmental or biological samples
• Coupling with mass spectrometry for enhanced identification
• Automation and remote monitoring using advanced autosamplers

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that hydrogen carrier gas on a narrow bore polar column enables fast and efficient GC-FID analysis of common organic solvents.
The optimized method delivers high resolution in a fraction of typical analysis time, benefiting routine laboratory workflows.

References

Application News G298 (JP, ENG), Shimadzu Corporation, 2022