Analyzing Organic Compound Species with Hydrogen Carrier Gas

Significance of the Topic

Volatile organic compounds such as aldehydes, alcohols, ketones and esters play major roles in environmental monitoring, food and beverage quality control, and industrial safety. Reliable, high-throughput analysis of these compounds is essential for regulatory compliance and process optimization. Using hydrogen as a carrier gas in gas chromatography can reduce analysis time, lower operating costs and improve separation efficiency compared to conventional helium.

Objectives and Study Overview

This study evaluates the performance of a wax-based capillary column (SH-PolarWax) for separating ten common volatile organics using the Shimadzu Nexis GC-2030 with an automated AOC-20i sampler. Key aims include demonstrating baseline resolution, assessing analysis speed and comparing hydrogen carrier gas to helium.

Methodology and Instrumentation

The method employs split injection (0.5 µL, split ratio 1:50) at 260 °C. A constant column flow of 3 mL/min hydrogen carrier gas delivers analytes through a 30 m × 0.32 mm I.D., 0.50 µm film SH-PolarWax column. The oven program starts at 50 °C (2 min), ramps at 10 °C/min to 200 °C. Detection is by flame ionization (FID) at 260 °C with hydrogen and air as combustion gases, and nitrogen makeup gas when using H₂ carrier.

Instrumentation Used

• Shimadzu Nexis GC-2030 gas chromatograph
• AOC-20i autosampler
• SH-PolarWax column (30 m × 0.32 mm, 0.50 µm film)
• FID detector

Main Results and Discussion

The ten target compounds—including acetaldehyde, acetone, ethyl acetate, methanol and various alcohols—were baseline resolved within a single run. Hydrogen carrier gas enabled faster elution times and sharper peaks compared to helium, without compromising resolution. The SH-PolarWax stationary phase provided strong selectivity for polar analytes, demonstrating consistent retention patterns and reproducibility across replicate injections.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Reduced analysis time increases sample throughput in QA/QC laboratories
• Lower carrier gas costs and improved sustainability with hydrogen
• Reliable separation of a broad range of polar volatiles for environmental, food and petrochemical industries

Future Trends and Opportunities

• Broader adoption of hydrogen carrier gas as helium supplies tighten
• Development of faster temperature programs and higher-efficiency columns
• Integration with mass spectrometry for enhanced compound identification
• Automated workflows and data analysis driven by AI for real-time monitoring

Conclusion

This application note demonstrates that the Shimadzu Nexis GC-2030 with the SH-PolarWax column and hydrogen carrier gas achieves rapid, high-resolution separation of key volatile organic compounds. The method offers cost savings, improved throughput and robust performance for diverse analytical challenges.

References

• Shimadzu Application News G298 (2022), Shimadzu Corporation