First SFC PetroAnalyzer System for ASTM Methods Installed

Thar Instruments, Inc.,(USA) have announced it successfully installed its first product targeting the petrochemical industry. The SFC PetroAnalyzer, an analytical supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC)
system, shipped to customers in Indonesia and China in Spring 2007. The first installation proved that the system performs better than published examples from the older SFC systems on the market by analysing jet fuels per ASTM Method 5186. This method specifies the use of carbon dioxide (CO2)-based chromatography with a flame ionization detector (FID) for analyzing aromatic and polynuclear aromatic content. Additionally, Thar shipped another unit for analysing both aromatics in diesel fuels and olefins in gasoline to China. Like ASTM Method 5186, ASTM Method 6550 also specifies the use of supercritical CO2 as the mobile phase and an FID detector.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) mandated in 2002 that ASTM Methods 5186 and 6550 must be used to analyze their respective toxins. Therefore, Thar plans to introduce a new PetroAnalyzer instrument into a California demonstration laboratory later in 2007. “The PetroAnalyzer is our first foray into the petrochemical market and we look forward to providing the same high quality products and rapid support that we provide to the pharmaceutical industry,” said Todd Palcic, Vice President of Thar Instruments. “In our minds, all customers should be reference customers. Now we have our first reference customers for our latest product and we look forward to adding more.”