Can measuring specific gravity replace chromatography?
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We produce ester products using synthesis towers and distillation towers. During production, it is necessary to analyze the intermediate processes, and gas chromatography is used each time to analyze the components within the towers. To improve the efficiency of these analyses, some people have proposed measuring the specific gravity of the samples taken, using these values to assess the status of production control. Will this work?
It shouldn’t take long to run a chromatography analysis, right? The esterification reaction is generally not intense – is immediate analysis necessary?
Chromatography takes a little over 5 minutes, while the specific gravity measurement is quick
Specific gravity analysis and chromatographic analysis are two completely different categories of analysis. Specific gravity is used to determine density. For mixtures, if it is a mixture of two components, the measurement of specific gravity is relatively accurate. However, when there are many components with large variations in their properties, specific gravity becomes merely a physical parameter that has little to do with the composition of the mixture. Chromatography, on the other hand, is used for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the components in a mixture; it is suitable for analyzing mixtures with multiple components, and it offers significant advantages in analyzing samples with large variations in their component composition. Additionally, there are also online chromatographs that can be suitable for certain explosion-proof environments.
Specific gravity is used to determine density; the density of a mixture has little to do with its composition. The mixed density of substances such as heavy oil varies greatly, so chromatographic analysis is more accurate.
5 minutes for chromatography is already quite fast; there’s no need to consider changing the method. Specific gravity cannot replace chromatography.
From an analytical perspective, specific gravity cannot replace chromatographic analysis.