Use of Gas–Liquid Partition Chromatography as a Preparative Method

Abstract

THE sharp separations obtainable by gas–liquid partition chomatography¹ would make it a useful alternative to distillation as a method for the purification of volatile compounds if the quality of the separations could be maintained on large columns. Evans and Tatlow² have described a column, 16 ft. long by 3 cm. internal diameter, which is suitable for the separation of 2–8 gm. of fluorocarbons. It is not yet clear, however, how much further the increase in size can be carried; but in any event, as so far developed, chromatography remains a batch process. Hence another line of approach to the problem of processing large amounts of material would be the automatic repetition of the cycle of batch operations, that is, injection of the charge and isolation of the pure material as it emerges from the column. This approach would be applicable whatever size columns are finally adopted.