A spark modulator for correlation chromatography

Summary A spark modulator has been tested as an injection system for correlation gas chromatography. An air/hydrocarbon vapour mixture was used as the carrier gas. Single negative sample injections were performed using a single spark period. The experiments resulted in negative sample peaks and a positive product peak. The intensity of all peaks showed a characteristic dependence on the spark frequency and power used. Ghostpeaks were absent when a correlation experiment was performed with a high concentration of a test compound in pure air. The signal to noise ratio enhancement however, was lower than the theoretical value. More experiments are necessary to expalain this phenomenon.