Presentation Profile
Application of a Novel Reverse-Fill-Flush Modulator and Splitter for Simultaneous GCxGC-TOFMS/FID Analysis of Synthetic Aviation F
Currently Scheduled: 10/10/2023 - 1:50 PM - 2:10 PM
Room: Daffodil
Main Author
John Hayes - LECO Corporation
Abstract:
The push for sustainable aviation fuels has led to the development of many pathways for production of synthetic aviation fuels, each currently requiring varying levels of physical and chemical testing to gain regulatory approval for use in commercial aviation equipment. Comprehensive characterization using two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC) for group-type analysis has widely been accepted as a valuable means of providing detailed compositional information for not only hydrocarbons, but also polar oxygenated and aromatic compounds in these new synthetic aviation fuels. In recent years, splitter technology that allows the coupling of low-cost, flow-modulated GCxGC with dual detection from time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) and flame ionization detection (FID) has been developed and refined to provide simultaneous identification of compounds and hydrocarbon group-type quantitation. In this presentation, a back-pressure regulated reverse fill-flush (RFF) flow modulator is used with built-in software controls to ensure full transfer of analytes from the primary to secondary GC column, an important consideration when any type of flow modulation is used. This separation technique is coupled with a novel splitter that eliminates the quantitative bias which occurs because flows to vacuum versus atmospheric pressure outlets on the different detectors change as temperatures increase during the chromatographic separation. A variety of chemical standards and both traditional and synthetic fuel samples are used to demonstrate optimal method parameters that provide both full transfer conditions and proper splitting for accurate characterization of aviation fuels.
