Fast GPC/SEC for Molar Mass Distribution in Production and Plant Environments

GPC-QC, from Polymer Char, is a compact high-temperature GPC/SEC instrument for quality control and process control in polyolefin manufacturing lines, providing robust and precise Molar Mass Distribution. It delivers the complete Molar Mass Distribution for one sample through a simplified workflow, while keeping full automation of sample preparation and analysis free of manual solvent handling throughout the entire process, which takes 30 minutes including dissolution.

The IR detection implemented in the instrument through Polymer Char's integrated IR4 or IR5 MCT detectors, is highly stable, contributing to the overall reliability while at the same time, providing chemical composition information, which is key for controlling production of heterogeneous resins. This is particularly relevant in the case of copolymers that account for a large proportion of polyolefins produced, such as LLDPE, some HDPE, and the important group of EP copolymers as well.

The information generated by the IR detector can be translated to either co-monomer weight fraction or to density units for a given product range. Moreover, for a truly complete analysis, the instrument can measure intrinsic viscosity by means of a built-in dual capillary viscometer that can be incorporated optionally.