Supercritical fluid extraction-capillary gas chromatography: on-line coupling with a programmed temperature vaporizer

A simple and versatile system is described for the on-line coupling of SFE to capillary GC. The interfacing consists of a programmed temperature vaporizer (PTV) injector. With this injector it is possible to combine solute trapping, elimination of a high flow of extraction fluid, and quantitative transfer of solutes to the seperation column. The problems caused by impurities in the extraction fluid in on-line SFE-GC are discussed. Simple methods are described for the purification of commercially available carbon dioxide. The trapping efficiency of the PTV injector is studied. Applications of the SFE-PTV-GC system are given for the analysis of polymer anti-degradants, polar compounds, and samples with environmental relevance