Highly Accurate Quantification of Liquid Hydrocarbons with a Wide Boiling Point Range

Polyarc/FID - a powerful tool for identification and quantitation of compounds

The Polyarc/FID from JSB is a powerful tool for identification and quantitation of compounds that are impossible to obtain to prepare external calibration standards. It is ideal for complex/natural samples or experimental reaction products.

Quantification of Liquid Hydrocarbons with Large Boiling Point Range using the Polyarc™ Reactor

An Application Note available from JSB demonstrates the use of the Polyarc™/FID for quantitative analysis of hydrocarbons without the need for calibration standards. The accuracy of the Polyarc™/FID is compared with an FID-only analysis. It also explained how to mitigate inlet issues that can lead to analysis inaccuracies.

In the study the authors analysed a solution of 13 n-alkanes with known concentrations with the Polyarc™ reactor. N-decane was used as an internal standard to determine the concentrations of the analytes assuming relative response factors per carbon of unity. The maximum error between the actual concentrations and the concentrations determined with the Polyarc™ reactor was 2.4%, with an average error of 0.9%.

For accurate analysis of sample composition, the ratio of components in the injected sample must remain constant during the injection onto the column and to the detector. Preferential vaporisation of components in the injector of the GC can result in analysis inaccuracies. Traditional calibrations can absorb some of these errors, but only when similar mixtures are used for calibration, which is rarely the case. These errors go unnoticed with traditional analysis and calibration techniques. However, with the Polyarc™ reactor it is possible to both detect and fix this problem by measuring the FID response to a sample with analytes that have a large range in boiling temperatures and known concentrations.

The authors concluded the Polyarc™ reactor allows for the accurate and facile quantification of hydrocarbons with a wide range of boiling points and carbon content. The accuracy of the Polyarc™ system to analyse compounds without calibration is unparalleled in the field of analytical chemistry making this tool useful for a variety of industries where accuracy is important and calibration is cumbersome, expensive and/or impossible. Furthermore, the authors found that the analysis of standard mixtures with the Polyarc™ reactor allows for the detection of issues in the GC system including preferential inlet vaporisation and leaks.

Contact JSB to learn more about Polyarc™ microreactor technology.