A Brief Discussion on the Relationship between Online Chromatographs and Analysis Cabins

A Brief Discussion on the Relationship between Online Chromatographs and Analysis Cabins

In 1903, Mikhail Tsvet, a Russian botanist, invented chromatography while studying plant pigments. His pioneering work led to the separation of chlorophyll and carotenoids, laying the foundation for modern chromatography techniques. In 1921, the first thermal conductivity detector was born. 

In 1941, Archer Martin and James proposed the theoretical basis of gas chromatography—partition chromatography theory, providing scientific support for its subsequent development. 

In 1947, the world's first laboratory chromatograph was born. In 1954, the thermal conductivity detector was first successfully applied to gas chromatographs. 

In 1957, capillary columns emerged. 

In 1958, the hydrogen flame ionization detector was introduced. 

Starting from 1960, with the rapid development of electronic technology, online gas chromatographs gradually emerged, underwent multiple product iterations, and became more miniaturized and intelligent.

After online chromatographs were developed, they were quickly applied to industrial process analysis. To effectively utilize online chromatographs, it is necessary to supply them with electricity, carrier gas, reference gas, heating in winter, cooling in summer, and a sample pretreatment system to ensure stable, pure, and impurity - free samples. This gave rise to the emerging industry of analysis - hut integration.

The analysis hut serves as a home for online chromatographs. It equips the chromatograph with air conditioning, underfloor heating, sinks, rain shelters, drainage pipes, lighting, switches, distribution boxes, telephones, access control systems, fingerprint recognition, sound - and light - alarm devices, desks, chairs, computers, fiber - optic communication facilities, and more. The hut can be customized with doors and windows as needed. It can even be designed as a "two - bedroom and one - living - room" layout with separate rooms for chromatographs and sample pretreatment, along with a front hall equipped with a central air conditioning and ventilation system. The size of the hut is determined based on the number of analyzers to be installed. The orientation of the analyzers and the entire hut must be planned in advance to facilitate on - site installation of pipelines and conduits, electrical wiring, and sampling tubes.

Chromatographs typically come with an uninterruptible power supply. While on - site power outages are unlikely, gas supply must not be interrupted, as the absence of carrier gas would render the chromatograph inoperable. Chromatographic carrier gases include hydrogen, nitrogen, helium, etc., with hydrogen being the most common. It is crucial to emphasize the safety of gas cylinders, as both 40 - liter carrier gas cylinders and 8 - liter reference gas cylinders are classified as hazardous materials. These steel cylinders contain high - pressure gases and must be transported and managed professionally to prevent leaks.

For small and medium - sized analysis huts, carrier and reference gas cylinders are usually fixed on the hut's exterior wall using brackets and chains to prevent tipping and potential hazards. The gas cylinder outlets are connected to pressure regulators via specialized metal hoses to supply gas to the chromatograph. In the case of large - scale analysis huts with numerous chromatographs or significant hydrogen demand across a plant, some chemical plants utilize multi - cylinder hydrogen groups for centralized hydrogen supply, addressing high - volume gas requirements and facilitating cylinder replacement and transportation.

In summary, online chromatographs and analysis huts share an interdependent relationship. Both are machines that require human management and maintenance to function effectively. Only with dedicated care can they continuously perform automatic analysis and provide meaningful data to the DCS system.