Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with fast sulphur-chemiluminescence detection: implications of detector electronics

Within the petrochemical industry, there has been a growing interest in methods capable of providing detailed information on the distribution of sulphur-containing compounds in various product streams, going down to the level of separating and quantifying individual sulphur species. Since no single capillary gas chromatographic column is able to perform this separation, a refuge to multi-dimensional separation techniques has to be taken. In this respect, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) coupled with sulphur chemiluminescence detection (SCD) has shown to be highly promising. It has been suggested, however, that the detector volume of an SCD restricts its potential to keep up with the fast second-dimension separations of contemporary GC x GC. In this paper, we will demonstrate that the lack of speed of the SCD does not originate from its physical dimensions, but is largely determined by the speed of the electronics used. Additionally, some typical examples will be presented to illustrate the potential of GC x GC coupled with fast SCD.