GC-MS and choice of column

[jazberella]

Hi everyone,

I am pretty new in gas chromatography so i would like to ask you few questions ;

I have HP 6890 Series GC system with MSD Detector 5973 Agilent and I have installed capillary column SupelcoWax- 10 with dimensions 30 m x 25 mm ID x 0,5 um, cause i would like to separate monoterpenes and higher alcohols and i have found column bleed.

Is this right choice of column for GC-MS?

[Peter Apps]

Choice of column is dictated first by what you need to separate, and then by which detector you have. How much bleed you can tolerate depends of the size of your peaks. In general wax phases bleed more than non-polar silicones so if you have to have minimum bleed and you can do your separation on a non-polar column switch to a silicone.

Wax phases are very sensitive to water and oxygen in the carrier gas, install a fresh gas scrubber and check carfully that you have no leaks in the plumbing and the inlet.

Peter