PLOT columns from Restek are suited for use in the petroleum industry because their retention and selectivity characteristics allow gases and volatiles to be separated with high resolution at above ambient temperatures. However, the utility of PLOT columns has been significantly limited by the mechanical instability of the particle layers. Routine vibrations or changes in gas pressure can cause a release of particles that clog the column, resulting in highly variable flow behaviors over time and between columns. Restek has developed a bonding process that establishes a new benchmark for PLOT column stabilization. This innovative process significantly reduces particle release and column blockage, resulting in highly stable flows and retention times, both run-to-run and column-to-column. By replacing conventional PLOT columns with bonded PLOT columns manufactured using this new technology, labs can increase the accuracy of impurities analysis and make better process decisions. This new stabilization technology is especially beneficial to flow switching applications and is available for porous polymer (Q-BOND, QS-BOND, S-BOND and U-BOND), alumina (KCl and Na2SO4 deactivations), and molecular sieve PLOT columns.
Michelle LongoAsst. Managing Editor
Striving Toward Secondary GoalsLate last month, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich stunned most everyone when he declared his promise that "by the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon." While I don’t fault Gingrich for dreaming and trying to set high standards and goals, I can’t help but think of the enormous amount of known and unknown variables that significantly deter this accomplishment...continue
