How to Safely Detect Hydrogen Leaks in GC Systems?

Hydrogen is an ideal alternative to helium as a carrier gas; it offers a faster analysis, a higher efficiency, reduced costs and a prolonged column life. Unfortunately the use of hydrogen could also be dangerous. To eliminate the risks in using hydrogen as a carrier gas Da Vinci Laboratory Solutions developed the DVLS³ Simply, Smart Sensor. By constantly monitoring the hydrogen concentration in the GC oven and automatically switching to an inert gas the DVLS³ Simply, Smart Sensor ensures the safe use of hydrogen in a GC analysis.

Monitor Hydrogen in GC Oven

The GC analysis evidently benefits from the use of hydrogen, but this carrier gas does have one disadvantage as it is an explosive gas! A broken GC column or a loose connection could leak hydrogen, which might result in an explosion in the GC oven. The robustness of the GC limits the risk for the staff, but the laboratory will need to replace its GC.

The DVLS³ Simply, Smart Sensor is installed in the GC oven for continuous monitoring of the hydrogen concentrations in the oven air. The LCD screen of the external controller displays the measured gas concentration.

If the sensor detects a user defined hydrogen concentration, typically between 25% and 50% LEL (equal to 1%-2% by Vol. hydrogen), it will ensure the safety of the laboratory staff by several means:

• The LCD screen of the sensor controller starts flashing.
• The sensor controller transmits an acoustic signal and sends an text message to a mobile device.
• The sensor controller automatically switches the carrier gas to an inert gas and sends an automatic stop signal to the GC.
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Detect a Hydrogen Leak and More

Due to the unique design of the DVLS³ Sensor you can combine up to four sensors in one controller. For example use four sensors for several GC’s or connect several sensors to one GC. The sensor is compatible with all GC brands.

Next to the hydrogen leak detection Da Vinci Laboratory Solutions offers multiple sensors dedicated to the detection of:

• Hydrogen
• Temperature
• Barometric Pressure
• Level (liquid) weight

The versatile multi sensor offers GC labs a safe solution to change the GC carrier gas to hydrogen. Listen to the recorded webinar on how to detect the hydrogen leaks in a GC systems using the DVLS³ Simply,Smart Sensor.