New Specialized GC Columns for the Petroleum Industry - Integrated Particle Trap PLOTs - DB-Sulfur SCD

New Specialized GC Columns for Petroleum Industry

• Accurate gas and vapor analysis underpins quality control, environmental compliance and process optimization in petroleum operations.
• Stationary phase shedding can compromise sensitivity, reproducibility and damage detectors in porous layer open tubular (PLOT) columns.
• Trace sulfur detection is critical to prevent corrosion, catalyst poisoning and to meet stringent environmental regulations on fuel sulfur content.

• Introduce integrated particle trap PLOT (PLOT PT) columns that eliminate phase shedding while preserving selectivity and GC/MS compatibility.
• Present a new DB-Sulfur SCD GC column optimized for inertness and low bleed, enhancing stable, sensitive sulfur detection by sulfur chemiluminescence detection (SCD).

• Baseline stability tests with flame ionization detector (FID) and mass spectrometer detector (MSD) over repeated temperature and pressure cycles to evaluate detector spikes.
• Selectivity studies comparing retention of light gases, solvents and C1–C4 hydrocarbons on PLOT PT vs standard PLOT columns.
• Lifetime tests: hundreds to thousands of methanol/water injections to assess retention index and plate count stability for PoraPLOT Q, PoraPLOT U, Al2O3, Molsieve 5A PT phases.
• Sulfur compound standards (ppb–ppm) analyzed on DB-Sulfur SCD columns by GC-SCD and FID, monitoring linearity, repeatability, sensitivity and detector tube fouling.

• Gas chromatographs equipped with capillary flow technology (CFT) splitters.
• Detectors: FID (300 °C), MSD (70 eV, transfer line up to 300 °C), sulfur chemiluminescence detector (SCD) with pulsed or continuous plasma.
• Columns: PLOT PT series (PoraPLOT, PoraBOND, HP-PLOT Q/U, Al2O3/KCl, Molsieve 5A PT) and Agilent J&W DB-Sulfur SCD (G3903-63001/63002/63003/63004).

• PLOT PT columns showed no detector spikes under extreme cycling; FID baseline drift <5 pA, MSD noise <2 × 10⁵ counts, enabling valve switching and GC-MS compatibility.
• Selectivity profiles of gases, solvents and C1–C4 hydrocarbons on PLOT PT were within manufacturing reproducibility compared to non-PT references.
• Lifetime testing (>350–1350 injections) revealed no change in retention index (ΔRI <1 unit) or separation performance across polymeric and inorganic PLOT PT phases.
• DB-Sulfur SCD columns delivered consistent response factors over 20+ injections with no sensitivity loss, SCD tube fouling or regeneration downtime for over six months of use.
• Trace sulfur standards (2–100 ppb on-column) achieved signal-to-noise >3, linearity R² >0.998 and inter-day RSD <5 % for a range of mercaptans, sulfides, disulfides and thiophenes.

• PLOT PT columns eliminate labor-intensive trap installations, reduce leak risks and enable reliable gas analysis in QA/QC, petrochemical process control and environmental monitoring.
• DB-Sulfur SCD columns provide robust, equimolar sulfur detection in natural gas odorant analysis, light petroleum liquids and process gas streams, minimizing maintenance costs and downtime.

• Expansion of trap integration technology to other selective phases for trace VOC and process gas analysis.
• Development of high-throughput, automated sulfur detection workflows coupling DB-Sulfur SCD with multiport sampling systems.
• Integration with advanced data analytics and AI-driven method optimization for real-time process monitoring.

• Integrated PLOT PT columns and DB-Sulfur SCD columns address key challenges in petroleum industry GC analysis by improving stability, sensitivity and reducing maintenance.
• These innovations support stringent quality, environmental and safety requirements while streamlining laboratory workflows.

• ASTM D5623 – Standard Test Method for Sulfur in Light Petroleum Liquids by Sulfur Chemiluminescence Detection
• ASTM D5504 – Standard Test Method for Determination of Trace Sulfur Compounds in Natural Gas by GC-SCD
• Agilent Technologies Brochure 5991-2977EN – New Specialized GC Columns for the Petroleum Industry