GC-SAW and GC-FID performance comparison for fast analysis of volatile organic compounds

Abstract

Objectives: To develop gas chromatograph (GC) based chemical agent detector and to compare the response of Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) detector with Flame Ionization Detector (FID) for the development of a reliable and fast gas/vapour analyzer. Also, to describe the limitations of the FID over SAW detector. Methods: An uncoated 433.92 MHz SAW device was used as Gas Chromatography (GC) detector and its response was recorded and compared with conventional FID detector using short capillary column. The response of both the detectors were analyzed by using standard mixture of seven Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Besides this comparison various key parameter of GC i.e. Flow, temperature and length of GC column were also optimized for fast GC analysis. Findings: After analyzing the fast GC data of both the detectors with same sample, it was observed that the resolution of chromatograms with SAW detector showed more resolved peaks as compare to the FID detector for the same GC parameters. Improvements/Applications: It is concluded that the SAW detector is more suitable for fast and reliable analysis of chemical vapors in rapid analysis.