@pidgirl's June 2012 E-Newsletter

From PID's to portable GC's and Beyond                                                          June 2012  From a local training course led by a colleague at UMass Boston to the Real-Time Detection Systems Committee Professional Development Courses (PDCs) at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, Jack has been out of the lab this month and on location teaching.    We're looking forward to our mid-week mini break next week in observance of the Independence Day holiday: we're closing Wednesday and Thursday.

Early history of the photoionization detector

Numerous companies manufacture and/or supply photoionization detectors but we remain unique because we have Dr. Jack Driscoll, the Father of Photoionization, the true expert on the HNU PID which has become coined *the analytical PID*.  He was honored to present the Early History of the Photionization Detector at the PID/4 gas field use PIDs andHazardous Chemicals and Real-Time Detection Systems PDC(s). His presentation is here and is full of interesting little known facts.  Photoionization detector for gas chromatography Jack Driscoll and Fred Spaziani: the founding fathers of HNU Systems, Inc. applied the photoionization detector technology to gas chromatography in 1976. Having borrowed a Tracor GC equipped with a Flame Ionization Detector and utilizing Fred's uncanny mechanical engineering skills, they built a crude version of the PID modeled after the portable PID they had introduced to the industrial hygiene market in 1974 and modified the detector to run on the Tracor. The purpose of this exercise was to develop a sensitive detector for hydrocarbons. What they had not expected to find was that their PID was fifty times more sensitive than the FID for aromatic hydrocarbons! Information on upgrading your GC with our HNU PID is here. Fast GC for Real-Time Detection in the field Gas chromatographic analysis times for ketone and aromatics methods (NIOSH 1301, 1501 & 2005) are between 25-35 minutes due to long temperature ramping and cooling times. Also, if peaks are not resolved chromatographically, non-target components may interfere with the analysis. We employed Vici Valco's resistively heated columns to reduce the total analysis times by 50-60%, and used the PID/FID response ratios to enhance identification of components of interest. Abstract here  *Enlighten me, but make it quick* Ignite! Session Jack is presenter #3 in this engaging presentation. 20 slides in 5 minutes on a particular  t  opic. Slid es are auto-advanced so in this case, timing IS everything! Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter today and I invite you to connect with me socially using the icon links below.             Sincerely, Jennifer L. Maclachlan, Managing Director PID Analyzers, LLC