Use of backflushing and peak-cutting technique in gas chromatographic trace analysis

Summary A backflusing, peak-cutting method was developed for the analysis of trace components present in the tail of a major component peak. Using a helium-ionization detector, the minimum detectable concentration (MDC) was: oxygen in hydrogen, 0.5ppm; nitrogen in oxygen or argon, 1ppm; and methane and carbon monoxide in nitrogen, 1ppm. The corresponding MDC values for the conventional single-column method were 7.2ppm, 8.3ppm, and 14 and 5ppm, respectively. Equations used to predict the retention time are given. The accuracy of the predicted retention time is about two percent compared to experimental results.