This edition first published 2020
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
The right of Tony Waters to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.
Registered Offices
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA
John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK
Editorial Office
John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK
For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products visit us at www.wiley.com.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print‐on‐demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty
In view of ongoing research, equipment modifications, changes in governmental regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to the use of experimental reagents, equipment, and devices, the reader is urged to review and evaluate the information provided in the package insert or instructions for each chemical, piece of equipment, reagent, or device for, among other things, any changes in the instructions or indication of usage and for added warnings and precautions. While the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this work, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives, written sales materials or promotional statements for this work. The fact that an organization, website, or product is referred to in this work as a citation and/or potential source of further information does not mean that the publisher and authors endorse the information or services the organization, website, or product may provide or recommendations it may make. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a specialist where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Waters, Tony, author.
Title: Process gas chromatographs : fundamentals, design and implementation
/ by Tony Waters.
Description: Hoboken, NJ, USA : Wiley, 2020. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020001270 (print) | LCCN 2020001271 (ebook) | ISBN
9781119633044 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119633006 (adobe pdf) | ISBN
9781119633013 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Gas chromatography–Equipment and supplies.
Classification: LCC QD79.C45 W38 2020 (print) | LCC QD79.C45 (ebook) |
DDC 543/.850284–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020001270
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020001271
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: Process Gas Chromatographs at the INEOS Olefin Plant in Cologne, Germany. Photo © INEOS in Cologne, 2019.
To Marilyn
Welcome to the world of Process Gas Chromatography!
This book focuses on the Process Gas Chromatograph (PGC). There are dozens of fine books on the science of gas chromatography but few on the technology of the process instrument. I found only two previous books dedicated to online gas chromatographs (Huskins 1977; Annino and Villalobos 1992).
Process gas chromatographs are complex instruments, and the people that design and operate them need special knowledge and unique skills. With that in mind, I designed the book to serve the needs of the journeyman analyzer technician, the process instrument engineer, and the process analyzer specialist.
PGC is a practical technology, and this is a practical book. It's an effective classroom training manual for those currently learning the art and a handy reference manual for those already practicing it.
Chapters are deliberately compact, suitable for a weekly reading program or as focused lessons in an educational course. Each chapter ends with a summary of knowledge gained and a self‐assessment quiz with answers provided. In addition, there are nine optional test questions for students; three easy, three moderate, and three challenging.
Why is such a book necessary?
Anyone working in the fluid processing industries knows that their knowledge base is in full flight. Due to staffing reductions and mass retirements our industry is losing decades of hard‐won experience.
Walter Jennings and Colin Poole recently expressed this situation rather well (Jennings and Poole 2012, 72):
This [automation of gas chromatographs] has led to a continuing decline in the expertise of the average practicing chromatographer from the mid‐1980s to the present time. This can be perilous, because everything from column selection to trouble‐shooting skills is based on a fundamental knowledge of chromatographic principles, the absence of which degrades the quality and usefulness of the information acquired by these instruments. To address these problems requires a massive educational effort before the knowledge is lost and the usefulness of gas chromatography to decision makers is called into question.
There can be no clearer call to justify this book. While the authors were writing to laboratory chemists, those working on process gas chromatographs also need a fundamental knowledge of chromatographic principles presented in a way that facilitates a massive educational effort. This textbook sets out to satisfy those needs. It's primarily written for process analyzer engineers and technicians but should be helpful to anyone using or maintaining a process gas chromatograph.
To succeed in its mission, a book needs to so excite readers that they want to read more. It should be so useful that they immediately return to it when they need information. Yet the average book on gas chromatography is abysmally boring and poses an intellectual challenge even to post‐doctoral scientists, let alone the lonely guy faced with fixing a broken process chromatograph at midnight.
This text teaches the fundamental knowledge of process gas chromatography by encouraging the reader to think critically about what is happening in the instrument, mostly without recourse to analogy or math. It also describes some practical procedures for design or troubleshooting.
So, here you have it. A clear yet detailed book that is ideal for classroom instruction, private study, or distance learning. Focused chapters unfold the technology of a process gas chromatograph to an engineer or technician who may have no previous experience of the technique. The content is basic, yet thorough, so it should meet the needs of many readers.
I'm glad that you're here. I hope you enjoy the book!
Tony Waters
Atascadero, California
January 2020
An international team of expert chromatographers has peer‐reviewed the technical content of this text. This Editorial Advisory Board comprised the experienced analyzer engineers listed below. We gratefully acknowledge their contributions. Culpability for remaining errors or omissions rests entirely on the author.
Jerry Clemons, PhD
Process Gas Chromatograph Consultant
Formerly, General Manager
ABB Process Analytics
Ronceverte, West Virginia, USA
R. Aaron Eidt, BSc
Process Analyzer Consultant
PEAK PERFORMANCE Analytical Consulting Ltd.
Delta, British Columbia, Canada
Formerly, Analyzer and PGC Manager
Dow Chemical Canada
Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Canada
Zoltán Hajdú, RNDr
Marketing Manager
Analyzer System Integration
Yokogawa Europe
Formerly, Analyzer Systems Consultant for Yokogawa
Central and East Europe
Phil Harris, BSc MSc
Process Analyzer Consultant
President
Insight Analytical Ltd.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Formerly, Engineering Manager AMETEK Western Research
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Michael Hoffman
Business Development Manager
Siemens Industry, Inc.
Analytical Products & Solutions
Houston, Texas USA
Dirk Horst
Process Analyzer Consultant
Heerhugowaard, Netherlands
Formerly Global QMI Consultant
Shell Global Solutions Team
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dr. Daniel Kuehne
Process Gas Chromatograph Consultant
Siemens AG
Analytical Products and Solutions
Manufacturing Karlsruhe, Germany
James Leonard, PhD
Process Analyzer Specialist
Eastman Chemical Company
Kingsport, Tennessee, USA
Harald Mahler
Process Analyzer Engineer
Siemens AG
Analytical Products and Solutions
Karlsruhe, Germany
Gen Matsuno, ME
Product Manager
Quality Analyzer Systems
General Manager
IA‐PS Analyzer Center
Yokogawa Electric Corporation
Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
Takashi Matsuura, BE
Senior Field Engineer
Nippon Swagelok FST, Inc.
Yokohama, Japan
Formerly, Manager of Process GC Development
Yokogawa Electric Corporation
Suru Patel, PhD
Process Analyzer Consultant
Patex Controls Ltd.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Formerly, Distinguished Engineering Associate for Process Analyzers
Exxon Chemical Company, Sarnia, Canada, and Singapore
Ivan Rybár, PhD
Head of Process Analyzer Group
Slovnaft MaO, a.s.
Bratislava, Slovakia
Formerly Research and Teaching Assistant, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Comenius University
Bratislava, Slovakia
Eric Schmidt, PhD
Principal Research Scientist
The Dow Chemical Company
Analytical Sciences
Freeport, Texas, USA
Hearty thanks all friends and associates who contributed material to this text. Many of those listed below audited the beta‐test of an online tutorial based on this textbook. Their contributions of time and knowledge are much appreciated.
Minh Anh | Vietnam |
Brian Aplin | South Carolina |
Dale Arstein | Ohio |
Masafumi Awano | Japan |
Ken Backus | Texas |
Hesham El Banna | Saudi Arabia |
Eddie Beezemer | Netherlands |
Linda Bonnette | Texas |
Mark Booth | Scotland |
Danny van den Burg | Netherlands |
Bruno Chaurand | France |
Alice Chin | Malaysia |
Alex Chu | England |
Scott Cookson | Australia |
Marcus Creaven | Ireland |
Dave Demsey Sr. | Pennsylvania |
Matt Dixon | Ohio |
Ana Dominguez | Switzerland |
Kevin Fajri | Indonesia |
Mikhail Fedorets | Russia |
Mike Frost | Australia |
Victor Alberto Fuentes | Spain |
Keisuke Fukada | Japan |
Yves Gamache | Quebec |
Udo Gellert | Germany |
Roger Glass | England |
Urich Gokeler | Texas |
Matt Hasenohr | Oregon |
Darryl Hazlett | Texas |
Jack Holland | England |
Tom Huddle | England |
Damian Huff | West Virginia |
Humberto Serrato Hurtado | Colombia |
Joe Iveljic | Ohio |
Nick Iverson | Minnesota |
Samson Jacob | Abu Dhabi |
Jayson Zhang Ji | Singapore |
Kyle Juist | Ohio |
Eric Kayla | California |
Eric Kvarda | Ohio |
Bert Laan | England |
André Lamontagne | Quebec |
Wilco Landkroon | Netherlands |
Rudi Lehnig | Germany |
Tim Lenior | Netherlands |
Hank Liu | Singapore |
Aldemar Figueroa Loza | Colombia |
Karim Mahraz | Ohio |
Rogério Matos | Brazil |
Bill Menz | Ohio |
John Meyer | Germany |
Thomas Neuhauser | Oklahoma |
Kentaro Nomura | Japan |
Doug Nordstrom | Ohio |
Tatsuya Ohkoshi | Japan |
Bob Perusek | Ohio |
Stacey Phillips | Alberta |
Wouter Pronk | Netherlands |
Venkat Rao | Dubai, UAE |
Syed Jawwad Raza | Qatar |
Reino van Rensburg | South Africa |
Joe Rodriguez | Ohio |
Zaffar Shariff | Singapore |
Joel Siallagan | Indonesia |
Trey Sinkfield | Texas |
Charlie Smith | Louisiana |
Sharon Sng | Singapore |
Mike Strobel | Pennsylvania |
Max Sukuma | Australia |
Asad Tahir | Texas |
Jorge Trillos | Colombia |
Steve Trimble | Oklahoma |
Kunawat Wattanakij | Thailand |
Mark Welch | England |
Henk van Well | Germany |
Martin Wieser | Germany |
Kenta Yamada | Japan |
Norbert Zeug | Germany |
“We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves.”
Attributed to Galileo Galilei1564–1642
Part One introduces the art and science of gas chromatography (GC) as applied to the industrial process instrument.
These four chapters explain how a GC column works, why the compounds in the injected sample form the characteristic peak shape, how one peak becomes separate from another peak, and how we can predict the position and shape of peaks on a chromatogram from known patterns of peak timing and width.
The text presents this information in an easy‐to‐read and mostly non‐mathematical manner. Yet it shuns simplistic analogies of what happens inside a GC column because they tend to mislead rather than to inform. Instead, it offers a challenging insight into real chromatographic behavior.
The knowledge gained here is a necessary preparation for understanding the function of the hardware devices and software techniques introduced in later chapters of the book. For those who aspire to be proficient in the application or troubleshooting of process gas chromatographs, mastery of these concepts is not optional.