Difference Between Gas Solid Chromatography and Gas Liquid Chromatography

Key Difference – Gas Solid Chromatography vs Gas Liquid Chromatography
 

The key difference between gas solid chromatography and gas liquid chromatography is that in gas solid chromatography, the stationary phase is in solid state whereas in gas liquid chromatography, the stationary phase is in liquid state.

Gas chromatography is a chromatographic technique in which the mobile phase is in gas state. A chromatographic technique is a test used to separate, identify and sometimes quantify the components in a mixture.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Gas Solid Chromatography 
3. What is Gas Liquid Chromatography
4. Side by Side Comparison – Gas Solid Chromatography vs Gas Liquid Chromatography in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Gas Solid Chromatography?

Gas solid chromatography is a chromatographic technique in which the stationary phase is in the solid state and mobile phase is in the gaseous state. The stationary phase of a chromatographic technique is the compound which is used to separate components in a mixture.

The gas solid chromatography is used for the separation of volatile components in a mixture. In this technique, both the mixture and the mobile phase are in the gaseous state. The mobile phase and the mixture to be separated are mixed with each other. Then this mixture is passed through the solid stationary phase. The stationary phase is applied to the inner wall of a tube known as the chromatographic column. The molecules of the stationary phase can interact with the molecules in the mobile phase.

There are advantages of using gas solid chromatography over gas liquid chromatography. The gas solid chromatography can be used at high temperatures because of low volatility and high stability.

What is Gas Liquid Chromatography?

Gas liquid chromatography is a chromatographic technique in which the stationary phase is in the liquid state and mobile phase is in the gaseous state. In this technique, the stationary phase is a nonvolatile liquid. This stationary phase is applied on the inner wall of a tube known as the chromatographic column. The inner wall act as a solid support for the stationary phase. The mobile phase is an inert gas such as Argon, Helium or Nitrogen.

The stationary phase is applied inside the column as a thin film of liquid. This liquid film is helpful in partitioning the components in the mixture between stationary phase and mobile phase. This technique is advantageous than the gas solid chromatography in different ways; for example, the separation of components is very high due to the wide range of liquid coating. However, gas liquid chromatography cannot be used at high temperatures because the thin liquid film is unstable and it can be vaporized.

What is the Difference Between Gas Solid Chromatography and Gas Liquid Chromatography?

Gas Solid Chromatography vs Gas Liquid Chromatography
Gas solid chromatography is a chromatographic technique in which the stationary phase is in the solid state and mobile phase is in the gaseous state.	Gas liquid chromatography is a chromatographic technique in which the stationary phase is in the liquid state and mobile phase is in the gaseous state.
Stationary Phase
The stationary phase of gas solid chromatography is in the solid state.	The stationary phase of gas liquid chromatography is in the liquid state.
Chromatographic Column
The stationary phase is applied on the inner wall of the column as a solid compound.	The stationary phase is applied on the inner wall of the column as a thin liquid film.
High-temperature Applications
The gas solid chromatography can be used at high temperatures.	The gas liquid chromatography cannot be used at high temperatures.
Stability
The stationary phase of the gas solid chromatography is stable.	The stationary phase of the gas liquid chromatography is unstable.

Summary – Gas Solid Chromatography vs Gas Liquid Chromatography

Chromatography is used to separate and identify the components in a mixture. There are two forms of gas chromatography, which are gas solid chromatography and gas liquid chromatography. The key difference between gas solid chromatography and gas liquid chromatography is that, in gas solid chromatography, the stationary phase is in the solid state whereas, in gas liquid chromatography, the stationary phase is in the liquid state.

Reference:

1. “How Is Gas Solid Chromatography Different from Gas Liquid Chromatography?” Lab-Training.com, 27 Dec. 2014, Available here.
2. “Easy Biology Class.” Easybiologyclass, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Gas chromatograph” By en:user:rune.welsh – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia