Gas Density Detector

Detector
Gas Density Mass Balance Detector
PRESENTED BY-
BT19CME083-LALITHA
BT19CME039-DEEPAM
BTT19CME083-ESWARI
INDEX 1.INTRODUCTION

2.MAJOR COMPONENTS

3.WORKING PRINCIPLES

4.PROPERTIES

5.PARAMETERS
PRESENTED BY-
BT19CME083-LALITHA 6.STABILITY
BT19CME039-DEEPAM
BTT19CME083-ESWARI 7.NOISE

8.CHARACTERISTICS
INTRODUCTION

●Invented by Martin and James in 1956.

●In the need of Separating a volatile substance by gas chromatography.
●Came up with a detection method with high sensitivity and response
being independent of chemical structure.
Introduction

● Not widely used but still comerically available and has some unique
characteristics.
● But was rapidly abandoned for the Thermal Conductivity Detector,
which was more sensitive, much simpler and easier to operate.
Major Components

● Reference gas
● Column gas
● sensing elements
● Detector Exit
Major Components

❖ Reference gas:
Used to balance the Wheatstone bridge.
❖ Column gas:
Containing the carrier gas is let out at C.
❖ Sensing elements:
Detect the change in flow rate as the gas flows by and converts it to electrical
signals.
Working Principle

➢ GDB is a gas stream equivalent of a Wheatstone

bridge.
➢ The stream of carrier gas eluting from the column
enters at c.
➢ A stream of pure reference carrier gas enters at a.
➢ Both streams mix and exit through the port at d.
➢ Both gas streams split when they enter the detector.
Working Principle

➢ The two streams of pure carrier gas pass over two sensors, bl
and b2, resistors cooled by the gas stream flowing over them
and heated by the electrical current.
➢ These two resistors are placed in the opposite branches of a
Wheatstone bridge, which measure the variation of their
temperature,i.e., of the velocity of the carrier gas in the two
branches of the GDB.
➢ When pure carrier gas elutes from the column, the flow rates
are equal in the two branches of the balance.The balance and
the electric bridge are equilibrated.
Working Principle

➢ When a compound elutes and its density is larger than that

of the carrier gas, the elute stream does not split equally
between the upward and the downward branches.
➢ The mobile phase is heavier than the pure carrier gas
coming from the right channels, and its flow rate in the
downward tube becomes larger than its flow rate in the
upward tube.
➢ As a consequence, the flow rate of pure carrier gas over
sensor b l decreases, while its flow rate over sensor b2
increases and the sensing element detects the change in
flow rate of the reference gas for balancing the wheatstone
bridge.
Working Principle

➢ Density of flows change through passages as

compounds are added to the carrier gas
➢ It is very important to observe that only pure carrier
gas flows over the flow rate sensors, so their
response results only from the change in the flow
rate in the corresponding channels, not from a
change in the composition, hence in the thermal
conductivity of the gas.
Parameters affecting response of GDB

➢ Nature of carrier gas ➢ Sensing elements

➢ Reference gas flow rates ➢ Internal design
➢ Temperature
Which can be adjusted and analysed by the Those which are determined by the design and
analyst construction of the detector
Properties of Gas Density Balance Detector(GDB)

➢ The GDB is a selective detector, but the degree of selectivity is very small. The response factor depends on the
molecular weight of the analyte and on the difference between the molecular weights of the analyte and the carrier
gas.

➢ The GDB is approximately 10 times less sensitive than a TCD using the same sensing elements. The detection
limits reported as concentrations in the sample analyzed are around 100 ppm.

➢ Since the optimum reference flow rate decreases rapidly with increasing reference gas molecular weight, much
more rapidly than the column optimum flow rate, the noise will be larger with the denser gases, for which the
ratio of the two flow rates tends to be close to 1
Noise of Gas Density Balance Detector(GDB)

➢ The carrier gas and the reference gas streams

merge orthogonally.
➢ Although these gas streams are laminar, the
interaction between them generates stationary
waves which is the origin of most of the noise.
➢ The larger the ratio of the column flow rate to the
reference flow rate, the larger this effect and the
larger the noise.
Gas Density Balance Detector(GDB) Characteristics

➢ Limit of Detection -1 × 10–9 g of H2

➢ Linearity- 10 6
➢ Response
➢ Stability
➢ Carrier gas - SF6,H2