Chromatography Forum

What is the difference between Gas chromatography and column chromatography？ Or they are similar to each other?
Please, any recommendation would be very welcome. Thank you!

Hi

The use of the word column can be confusing to a newcomer - a column implies a large vertical cylindrical solid or tube. It and other terms (like theoretical plates)come from an historical connection to large and small scale distillation and separation columns ( or tubes).

So a column in chromatography terms is basically a tube - it can be glass,metal or very thin coiled fused silica tubing with a filling or internal coating that separates a mixture as it is made to pass through it.

In gas (column ) chromatography a gas is used to transport the mixture through the tube and in liquid (column) chromatography a liquid is used.

So column chromatography uses a tube (or column) and gas chromatography is a form of column chromatography.

Does that help?

Does anybody else have a more helpful explanation?

http://www.itjustabox.com might help

"Up to now, we have learned with much effort to distill, crystallize and recrystallise, and now they come along and just pour the stuff through a little tube!" Nobel Laureate Heinrich Wieland.

Cheers

Ralph

These days, the term "column chromatography" is generally applied to liquid chromatography in glass tubes (columns) under gravity flow (or low-pressure pumps such as peristaltic pumps).

There are lots of ways to subdivide, but one way starts with the mobile phase: liquid or gas.

Then the physical format:

Liquid Chromatography
- column chromatography (low pressure)
- high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) high pressure
- paper chromatography (a sheet of filter paper, with liquid flow by capillarity)
- thin-layer chromatography (a thin layer on a plate, with liquid flow by capillarity)

Gas chromatography
- packed-column (small particles packed in a tube)
- capillary (long capillary tubes with stuff on the inner wall)

And yes, there is overlap!

Generally, column chromatography is much more efficient in cost.

Thanks a lot for all of your reply!!