ENTECH 5400 Thermal Transfer System

The analysis of adsorbent tubes can be a nightmare for analytical laboratories, especially when there is a requirement to get results on 100% of the tubes tested. Instrument problems, unexpected analyte loading outside of the GCMS calibrated range, and cross-contamination make the normal “one-shot” analysis very risky. Even attempting to recover a “split” fraction of the tube onto another tube is plagued with problems such as added background, poor leak-free validation, and compounded incomplete recoveries from yet a second tube.

The 5400 Thermal Transfer System simplifies all of this. The 5400 automates the transfer of tube samples into either Silonite® coated MiniCans or Bottle-Vac™ samplers. Unlike Tedlar bags, both MiniCans and Bottle-Vac samplers can be heated to maintain the recovery of the heaviest thermally desorbable analyts. During desorption, roughly 500cc of nitrogen is used to recover the tube sample even more completely than direct GC thermal desorbers which attempt to desorb the sample with as little helium as possible. The 5400 performs automated leak-checking before thermally desorbing the tube sample, followed by individually adjusting the final pressure to obtain the same desorption volume for each sample transfer. Once in the MiniCan or gas-tight Bottle-Vac, as little as 0.1cc can be analyzed, or as much as the entire volume using the 7100A or 8000 Preconcentration System. For maximum recovery of SVOCs, the MiniCans or Bottle-Vacs can be heated manually or automated with the 7500 Robotic Autosampler.