A method of washing an element in a chromatography system, wherein the method includes performing an element rinse step. The element rinse step includes providing a first washing liquid with a first composition towards the element, and providing a second washing liquid with a second composition towards the element, wherein the second composition is different from the first composition.

A method and system for sample analysis involve a temporally-resolving separation of sample components. In the method, solvent vapors are condensed prior to entering a temporally-resolving separator, a GC column, for example, and solvent-depleted vapors are directed to the separator where constituents are resolved in time. A system for analyzing a sample comprises an injection port, a temporally-resolving separator (e.g., a GC column) and a conduit connecting the two. The injection port is at a temperature sufficiently high to vaporize the solvent and analytes present in a sample. The conduit is configured and/or operated to condense the solvent, while maintaining the analytes in the vapor phase.

A thermal desorption tube collection system uses a thermoelectric cooler to collect and concentrate gas samples. In some modes, the operation of the cooler is reversed to flow the concentrated sample directly into a separator such as a gas chromatography system. Components resolved in time by a thermal desorption separator accumulate in a sample cell and are analyzed by electromagnetic radiation-based spectroscopic techniques. Also presented are methods for analyzing biogas samples.

A method for determining corrosion inhibitor residual concentration of a hydrocarbon sample is described. The hydrocarbon sample is mixed with a standard solution to form a first mixture. The standard solution includes a corrosion inhibitor in a known concentration. The first mixture is mixed with an aqueous saline solution to form a second mixture. The aqueous saline solution includes about 1% salt concentration or greater. The second mixture is agitated for about 1 hour or longer and at a temperature of about 50 degrees Celsius (° C.) or greater. After agitation, a hydrocarbon phase and an aqueous phase of the second mixture are allowed to separate. A portion of the aqueous phase is obtained. The portion of the aqueous phase is analyzed to determine a corrosion inhibitor residual concentration of the hydrocarbon sample.

A method and system for sample analysis involve a temporally-resolving separation of sample components. In the method, solvent vapors are condensed prior to entering a temporally-resolving separator, a GC column, for example, and solvent-depleted vapors are directed to the separator where constituents are resolved in time. A system for analyzing a sample comprises an injection port, a temporally-resolving separator (e.g., a GC column) and a conduit connecting the two. The injection port is at a temperature sufficiently high to vaporize the solvent and analytes present in a sample. The conduit is configured and/or operated to condense the solvent, while maintaining the analytes in the vapor phase.

The invention relates to a system and micro monitor apparatus, a space-, time-, and cost-efficient device to concentrate, identify, and quantify organic compounds in gas environments. The invention further relates to a method centered on gas chromatography for identifying and quantifying organic compounds in gas environments, using air as the carrier gas, without the need for a compressed pre-bottled purified carrier gas.

A multi-capillary column pre-concentration trap for use in various chromatography techniques (e.g., gas chromatography (GC) or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS)) is disclosed. In some examples, the trap can include a plurality of capillary columns connected in series in order of increasing strength (i.e., increasing chemical affinity for one or more sample compounds). A sample can enter the trap, flowing from a sample vial to a relatively weak column to the relatively strongest column of the trap by way of any additional columns included in the trap, for example. In some examples, the trap can be heated and backflushed so that the sample exits the trap through the head of the relatively weak column. Next, the sample can be injected into a chemical analysis device for performing the chromatography technique (e.g., GC or GCMS) or it can be injected into a secondary multi-capillary column trap for further concentration.

A controller includes a temperature prediction unit. The temperature prediction unit predicts, on the assumption that a refrigerant is fed from a refrigerant feeder, an internal temperature of a column oven based on time interval information and decrement information in a memory. Thus, the temperature prediction unit can accurately predict the internal temperature of the column oven when the refrigerant is fed from the refrigerant feeder. If the refrigerant is fed from the refrigerant feeder when the predicted internal temperature of the column oven is suitable for the analysis operation, the internal temperature of the column oven can be brought closer to an appropriate temperature. As a result, the internal temperature of the column oven can be controlled with precision.

A cooling unit (cryo-focus unit) cools breath introduced into a carrier gas from a sample introduction unit, to trap volatile components in the breath into a column. A heater heats the volatile components trapped in the column to desorb the volatile components. Amass spectrometry (MS) section detects the volatile components desorbed by the heater and separated in a process of passing through the column. The breath introduced into the carrier gas from the sample introduction unit is cooled by the cooling unit, whereby more volatile components in the breath are trapped, and those volatile components can be desorbed, and can be detected by the MS section.

The invention relates to a system and micro monitor apparatus, a space-, time-, and cost-efficient device to concentrate, identify, and quantify organic compounds in gas environments. The invention further relates to a method centered on gas chromatography for identifying and quantifying organic compounds in gas environments, using air as the carrier gas, without the need for a compressed pre-bottled purified carrier gas.