This document presents a practical example of backflushing using the Agilent QuickSwap accessory for analyzing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in waste oil. The benefits of using QuickSwap instead of the traditional high-temperature bakeout procedure are demonstrated, including significantly reduced column and detector contamination and increased sample throughput.
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in waste oil are typically analyzed by GC-ECD or GC/MS after solid phase extraction cleanup. However, not all problematic matrix components are completely removed during cleanup and can contaminate the column and detector.
This application presents a practical example of backflushing using the Agilent QuickSwap accessory installed on an Agilent 7890 GC/5975 MSD system. Benefits of using QuickSwap instead of the traditional high-temperature bakeout procedure are demonstrated, showing that column and detector contamination were significantly reduced and sample throughput increased.
Its primary function is to simplify changing columns and performing maintenance on GC/MS systems by providing a flow of clean carrier gas that excludes air from the mass spectrometer when columns are disconnected.
Backflushing reverses the column flow so low-volatility contaminants travel only a short distance to be removed, whereas in a traditional bakeout they must travel through the full length of the column.
The total run time for the oven temperature program with backflush is 22 minutes.