Gas-Chromatographic Analysis of Mixtures of Hydrogen Isotopes

A simple method is proposed for the gas-chromatographic analysis of complex gas mixtures containing hydrogen isotopes; the method is based on the substantial difference in the thermal conductivity of these isotopes. The total peak of the isotopes is recorded in a chromatogram, and the calibration is performed by pure reference gases. The concentrations of impurity gases in the analyzed mixture and in reference samples for each of the hydrogen isotopes are determined simultaneously. The fractional concentrations of protium and deuterium are calculated by the equations involving the heights of the unresolved peaks of hydrogen isotopes in chromatograms and concentrations of impurity components.