Application of the radioactive ionisation detector to the determination of permanent gases by gas chromatography and some uses in studies of chemical kinetics

It has been found possible to determine volumes of hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide within the range 0.1–10 ml at S.T.P. and carbon monoxide and nitrogen within the range 0.1–0.4ml at S.T.P. with an accuracy of around 5 % in a gas chromatograph using the radioactive ionisation detector, provided that the detector temperature and the rate of carrier gas flow through the column are maintained between stated limits. Results of experiments on the sensitivity of the instrument to oxygen, sulphur dioxide, ethane, propane and n-pentane are also reported. Particular attention has been directed towards selecting the most suitable parameter of the response peaks for use in quantitative analysis.

Some particular applications of the argon chromatograph in studies of chemical kinetics involving permanent gases are described, and a method for the removal of corrosive gases from mixtures to be analysed is discussed.