A gas chromatographic group analysis of acid and neutral constituents by the use of an alkaliquartz powder column

A new gas chromatographic technique has been established to determine the distribution of acid constituents in complex organic mixture by making use of an alkali trap at the same column temperature up to 240°C. A 5mmφ×1 m 115 wt.% of KOH-quartz powder column combined with a conventional separatory column removes phenols and carboxylic acids completely without any disturbance on the chromatograms of neutral constituents. Acid constituents are readily distinguishable from neutral substances by a direct comparison of two chromatograms, i. e. those with and without the use of the "alkali column". The present technique has been applied successfully to determine trace amounts of phenol and o-, m- and p-cresol in the heavy oil of coal tar. It is also applicable to the analysis of such substances containing active hydrogen as indene, fluorene, pyrrole, indole, and carbazole, and is useful for the identification of ketosteroids as well as estrogenes in steroid mixture.