Novel column heater for fast capillary gas chromatography

In this paper, we present two designs for the implementation of extremely fast temperature programming of gas chromatographic columns. Both designs incorporate heating and temperature-sensing elements placed along the column. Resistive heating controls the column temperature via a feedback circuit and a software-selected temperature program. Linear temperature increases up to 10°C/s are obtained. The performance of each design is evaluated for applications to volatile and semi-volatile hydrocarbons. Retention times deviate only slightly in comparison with a standard commercial instrument, and peak widths increase for compounds beyond C13. The proposed column heater designs have satisfactory retention time reproducibility. They are lightweight and consume little power, making them promising alternatives for fast portable gas chromatography.