Honeywell G.m.b.h.

Brunswick Corporation

Marion H Cates

Eugene L Szonntagh

Bruce W Castleman

W Frank Wilhite

Rex R Walker

William E Skillman, Iii

A gas analysis apparatus including a sorption bed and a receiver normally spaced apart from the sorption bed. A given flow path is defined between the sorption bed and the receiver for directing a gas to be analyzed across the sorption bed for adsorption thereby in an adsorption mode of operation of the apparatus. A drive relatively moves the sorption bed and the receiver closer together from their spaced apart condition to produce a volume reduction of the defined, given flow path across the sorption bed in a desorption mode of operation of the apparatus. A heater selectively heats the sorption bed to desorb the adsorbed gas from the bed into the volume reduced flow path. A gas analyzer is connected to the receiver for analyzing the desorbed gas.

Sorption/desorption method and apparatus

A thermochromatographic column has a fused silica capillary with a high temperature chemically inert polymer coating thereon supporting a thin heater film formed by the deposition of either a high resistance metallic compound auto-catalytically from a solution of the compound or a nichrome film sputtered onto the polymer clad capillary tubing. The electrical contacts to the heater film may be either resistance welded thereto or the electrically conductive wires may be attached to the capillary body and integrated into the heater film during the deposition of the heater film. An outer layer of an electrically insulating material is applied to the heater film to electrically isolate the heater film and to protect the heater film from damage.

Fast response thermochromatographic capillary columns

A sorption/desorption gas analysis apparatus includes a sorption/desorption bed having a thin layer of sorption material fixed to an outside surface of a first and a second adjacent tapered bed element arranged in a mutually mating configuration. The bed elements are further arranged to be selectively moved with respect to each other to produce a first flow volume therebetween past the sorptive material during a sorption mode of operation and a second substantially smaller flow volume past the sorptive material during a desorption mode of operation. The sorption/desorption bed is used in the gas analysis apparatus by first exposing the sorption bed to an impinging flow of a sample gas containing the constituent of interest which is sorbed by the sorptive material in the sorption mode of operation. During the desorption mode of operation, the first and second bed elements are displaced toward each other by a bed drive while flow directing elements are used to direct the flow of a desorbed sample from the sorption bed. Finally, the sorptive material is heated to desorb the sorbed sample and which is directed to an inlet of a detector, e.g., a gas chromatograph. The flow volume reduction provided by the volume of the flow path across the sorptive material during the desorption operation compared to the cumulative volume of impinging gas flow during the sorption operation produces a very high accumulation factor by minimizing the flow space volume.

Sorption/desorption gas analysis apparatus

An electrode system for an electrochemical sensor has a plurality of electrically conductive sensing segments isolated from each other and mounted on a support substrate formed from a chemically inert encapsulation material. The sensing segments are unencapsulated and are each coated with respective ones of ion conducting sensing materials to characterize each of the segments except for one of the segments which is uncoated and is arranged to be used as a reference electrode. The outer surface area of the sensing materials and the reference electrode is coated with a layer of a nonaqueous electrolyte which serves as a sorption/desorption medium. The electrolyte, in turn, is covered by a semipermeable thin film membrane secured at its peripheral edge by an O-ring to the support to form a fluid seal. Electrically conductive leads are connected to respective ones of the sensing surfaces, and a temperature measuring device is provided in the electrode structure for temperature compensation.

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Largo, FL, United States of America

Marion H Cates