Chromatography Forum

Hello everyone!

I'm a high school student. I have to do a huge chemistry report & 5-10 min presentation where I'm supposed to become an "expert" on my topic, and I chose chromatography.

Of course I know that you won't do my homework for me, but I'm sure you could help me, right?

The teacher also includes some general questions we have to answer in our presentations. This is a high school project, so the questions are very basic, compared to the other "basic" student questions I read in this forum, and the intimidating analytical chemistry textbooks I found in the library... x_x ...yet I'm still having trouble with them.

Why is chromatography useful?
Preparative purposes – To purify a significant quantity of a component of a mixture for further use
Analytical purposes – To separate and identify or measure the chemical components of complex mixtures, usually in smaller quantities

What property of liquids and solids is crucial in chromatography?
Um, I really don't know. x__x Stationary phases and mobile phases aren't exactly a property, are they?
But anyway, my notes --
-Common to all chromatography procedures is the stationary phase and mobile phase
-Stationary phase: The substance that is fixed in place during the procedure. Can be solid or liquid.
-Mobile phase: The phase substance moves through the stationary phase, and carries the analyte mixture. Can be a gas or a liquid.
-Chromatography relies on the differential distribution of various components in a mixture between the mobile phase and stationary phase

What types of chromatography methods are available to scientists?
There's many different types of chromatography...and different ways to categorize them by. The way I categorized them looks confusing, would you recommend a better one?
(Yes I also have explanations, but my main difficulty is how to categorize them. haha)

PLANAR CHROMATOGRAPHY
Liquid Chromatography
-Thin Layer Chromatography [+explanation]
-Paper Chromatography [+explanation]

COLUMN CHROMATOGRAPHY
Liquid Chromatography [+explanation]
-HPLC
Gas Chromatography [+explanation]

*I think I need to include more categories.

What are practical applications of chromatography?
I know chromatography can be used for things such as identifying the components of wastewater and pollution, drug identification, blood samples, pharmaceuticals, etc.
But I can't find any information about the specific process and how chromatography is used...
Help please?

Oh! And also, any ideas on how to make this presentation interesting?
I'll be demonstrating chromatography with black ink...but that isn't exactly going to fascinate anyone. Or, I could do chromatography with leaves...

Thank you for your help.
- Lucy (Shutters)

Why is chromatography useful?

Identification of components of mixtures and the determination of their amounts has enabled science to make great advancements in the last century.

What property is crucial?

Solubility, or more generally, the physical attraction of one chemical to another chemical.

(Yes I also have explanations, but my main difficulty is how to categorize them. haha)

PLANAR CHROMATOGRAPHY

Thin Layer Chromatography [+explanation] paper, normal, reversed
phase, ion exchange

COLUMN CHROMATOGRAPHY

Liquid Solid Chromatography [+explanation] (Flash and Column)

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

Gas Liquid Chromatography (GC) [+explanation]

*I think I need to include more categories.

What are practical applications of chromatography?

Energy-Fuel Manufacturing

Natural Gas Pipeline ownership transfer BTU gas analysis (GC)
Refinery and Chemical production - manufacturing control and analysis
of product (Diesel, Gasoline, Fuel Oil)

Petrochemical manufacturing

Feedstocks for polymers, plastics, synthetic fibers) (via GC, HPLC,
Liquid Solid Column Chromatography)

I know chromatography can be used for things such as identifying the components of wastewater and pollution,

Environmental Analysis (via TLC, GC, HPLC)
runoff of pesticides, fertilizers, chemical spills, soil and water quality
analysis

Food and Drug

identification and purity, blood analysis, pharmaceuticals, body chemistry, disease and medical diagnosis (via TLC, GC, HPLC)

But I can't find any information about the specific process and how chromatography is used...
Help please?

This small addition to your notes I hope will be helpful.

best wishes,

Rod

James Hardy at the University of Akron has a really nice intro to analytical chemistry website, including chromatography
http://ull.chemistry.uakron.edu/analytical/index.html
If you ask him nicely, he might even let you borrow a couple of his graphics.
Otherwise, you could try going to some of the websites of equipment vendors. I assume you are doing a PowerPoint presentation. It's practically an industry standard...though I did go to a seminar by a Nobel Laureate a couple of years ago that was entirely free-hand drawing on the spot.

As for "specific processes..." that would be what I consider a method, and it will vary considerably depending on what you want to do and what equipment you have to do it with. (Don't show that last sentence to your English teacher...) Some common steps are:
getting a sample (may not be part of the labwork, but is often a critical step)
preparing the sample for analysis (often a complex process)
applying your sample extract to the column ("injection") or TLC
running the chromatography
detecting compounds of interest
processing the data (for analytical purposes)
reporting the results (for analytical purposes, usually)

Thanks for your help!
My project and presentation date is actually mid-December. And it's not a PowerPoint presentation... just a poster board assignment. It is pretty straightforward.

Why is chromatography useful?

Identification of components of mixtures and the determination of their amounts has enabled science to make great advancements in the last century.

What are some specific examples of advancements?

Oh, and thank you Rod for categorizing the applications. It's much more clear now.
And thanks Mary for the site and steps; they're very helpful.

I am still confused with how to categorize the types of chromatography. Is it okay to put subcategories underneath the headings Planar Chromatography and Column Chromatography (see first post)? Or should I put them underneath the headings Liquid Chromatography and Gas Chromatography?

Can someone check over (and possibly expand?) these notes on the separation of black inks? (I know it's not much...)
-Banding pattern of colours separated on the solid support (chromatograph)
-Molecules in ink have different characteristics (e.g. size, solubility), therefore, they travel at different speeds when pulled along the paper by the solvent, water
-Some of the components attach better to the paper, so they stay behind, while others dissolve into the solution across the paper
-*Some inks are water soluble, while permanent markers are often alcohol soluble

Lucy