Laboratory Products 31 That sounds like a really useful development for custom GC. How does it work?
Yes, it’s been a game-changer for us really. At the heart of the BID is a quartz dielectric chamber, which generates a helium plasma that ionises pretty much everything that elutes from the GC. What makes the BID different from previous helium ionisation detectors is that the electrodes have a dielectric coating, preventing the plasma from eating away at them, and giving the detector much higher precision and excellent long-term stability.
But the main benefit for the analyst is the lower detection limits - BID is 100 to 200 times as sensitive as TCD! When specifying systems for customers, I usually quote down to about 30 ppm for most of the permanent gases, but you can fairly easily get lower than that by optimising the method once the system’s up and running. We can also equip the Nexis GC-2030 with two BID detectors to get more out of each analysis.
What are the main applications for custom GC?
The applications have changed a lot over the years. Initially we were focused on analysing refinery gases, and I think the first job we ever did was for liquified natural gas. In fact, that application became so popular that it stopped being a custom build and became a prebuilt off-the-shelf product.
But now, about 80% of the systems we’re selling are for ‘new energy’ applications, with our primary customers being in academia. For example, we’re delivering systems to analyse methane and other gases generated from catalytic or light-mediated reduction of CO2
, or for generating hydrogen from hydrocarbons for use in fuel cells. So, the thrust of the research is all about diversifying our energy sources and becoming less carbon-intensive in how we generate energy.
That’s obviously a hot topic at the moment given the current problems with energy supply. When did interest in using custom GC in this field get going? Here in the UK, it started about seven years ago with one or two groups – but it’s swiftly expanded to about 12 groups today. A main driver has been the generous funding that’s been available for this sort of research, which naturally has spurred a lot of groups to investigate it.
What’s interesting from the instrument point of view is the degree of ‘cross-pollination’ between researchers. One of the first academic groups who we sold a custom GC to was the Reisner group at Cambridge University, swiftly followed by University College London and Imperial College London. They produced papers citing the use of our GC with the BID detector, and then we found other groups got in touch wanting to set up a similar system for their work.
What are the main challenges presented by such applications?
A common theme through much of this research into ‘new energy’ is quantifying gases at a wide range of levels in one sample. For example, as well as bulk amounts of the gas you’re synthesising, you may be looking for trace levels of impurities. Determining these values is vital for optimising a process and making the end product as pure as possible – which is obviously vital if it’s going to be used on an industrial scale.
, methane and nitrous oxide - again requiring determination of levels from low percent down to parts per billion, all in one analysis. Having the BID detector has really opened up these applications to us, because it allows us to get down to the really low levels that researchers want.
Another related application that has the same challenge is analysis of greenhouse gases such as CO2
How does this compare to other systems on the market?
Well, it’s different ball game, as they say. For example, many people are still using packed columns for gas analysis, which are fine for some purposes, but we’ve largely moved over to capillary columns now. The obvious benefits are better separation with faster runs, but they also work with smaller samples, which of course is perfect for lab-scale research. If customers have had previous experience with packed columns for gas analysis, then they’re usually pretty impressed by what can be achieved with capillary systems, especially in conjunction with the BID detector.
And in terms of the overall service that you offer, what makes customers come back to you?
I think it’s really the bespoke service and the expertise we have - you don’t get that with every supplier. We’ve been doing custom GC at Shimadzu for nearly 20 years now, so we’ve accumulated a lot of knowledge about how to design systems for pretty much every situation, and customers really appreciate that. But there are always new challenges, and what’s great about many of our customers is that they’re always looking to push the boundaries of what’s possible, which keeps us on our toes!
And that’s rewarding in itself, but of course it’s even better because we know we’re ultimately helping research into technologies that will provide a greener and more secure energy supply for future generations.
More information online:
ilmt.co/PL/30AG and
ilmt.co/PL/2WA2 58381pr@reply-direct.com
Shimadzu Nexis
Ad.indd 1 03/02/2021 16:46
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