6533b826fe1ef96bd1285095
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Measurement of trace impurities in ultra pure hydrogen and deuterium at the parts-per-billion level using gas chromatography
V.a. GanzhaF. WautersF. WautersP. KammelAn.a. VorobyovV. TrofimovC. PetitjeanA. VasilyevM. VznuzdaevP. KravtsovP. KravchenkoK. A. Ivshinsubject
PhysicsNuclear and High Energy PhysicsHydrogenAnalytical chemistryParts-per notationchemistry.chemical_element02 engineering and technology021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology01 natural sciencesNitrogenDilutionchemistryDeuteriumImpurity0103 physical sciencesGas chromatography010306 general physics0210 nano-technologyInstrumentationGas chromatography ion detectordescription
Abstract A series of muon experiments at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland deploy ultra-pure hydrogen active targets. A new gas impurity analysis technique was developed, based on conventional gas chromatography, with the capability to measure part-per-billion (ppb) traces of nitrogen and oxygen in hydrogen and deuterium. Key ingredients are a cryogenic admixture accumulation, a directly connected sampling system and a dedicated calibration setup. The dependence of the measured concentration on the sample volume was investigated, confirming that all impurities from the sample gas are collected in the accumulation column and measured with the gas chromatograph. The system was calibrated utilizing dynamic dilution of admixtures into the gas flow down to sub-ppb level concentrations. The total amount of impurities accumulated in the purification system during a three month long experimental run was measured and agreed well with the calculated amount based on the measured concentrations in the flow.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-02-01 | Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment |