Indicating Silica Gel Best for the Gas Chromatography Panel
Indicating silica gel is an important part in gas chromatography (GC) panels that ensures the precision and reliability of the analytical result. If most of the properties of non-indicating and indicating silica gel are similar, then what makes indicating silica gel the preferred choice? This visual cue—blue to pink for cobalt chloride or orange to green for methyl violet—makes it an ideal choice for applications requiring real-time moisture monitoring, such as gas chromatography. There is more you need to know about indicating silica gel for chromatography panel, let's find out in this blog.
What is Indicating Silica Gel?
If you ask about the major difference between indicating and non-indicating silica gel, it would be the presence of a colour-changing moisture indicator. And that's why it is an ideal choice for applications like gas chromatography panels. Apart from that, both indicating and non-indicating are forms of silicon dioxide (SiO2).
The indicating silica gel is impregnated with moisture-sensitive indicators, such as cobalt chloride or methyl violet. When the silica gel gets fully absorbed with moisture, it changes its colour, signalling that it's either time to replace or regenerate.
The visible colour change provides a very effective moisture detection mechanism, and that's why it finds its application in various industries. The use of indicating silica gel is very common in gas chromatography columns, as it maintains a dry environment, which is very crucial for any reliable analysis.
There are two types of indicating silica gel: Orange and blue indicating silica gel.
The orange indicating silica gel is orangish in color, which turns light green/green when fully saturated with moisture. This silica gel is a non-toxic desiccant and can be used in many industrial applications. The main purpose of this is that it comes with a visual representation/ live moisture indicator, which is very important in applications such as compressed air dryers, breathers, drying and storing seeds, etc.
On the other hand, the blue indicates silica gel is in a bead or granule form. Due to the cobalt chloride, the color of this silica gel is dark blue, which turns pink as soon as it fully saturates with moisture. The blue indicating silica gel has a wide range of applications; however, the food and pharma industry refrains from direct contact with their sensitive product.
What is a Gas Chromatography Panel?
A gas chromatography panel is a comprehensive system for separating and analysing volatile compounds, integrating gas purification, injection, separation, detection, and control components. Gas chromatography panels are used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of complex mixtures across various applications.
In industries such as pharma, food and safety, forensics, petrochemicals, herbal extract chemicals, Research and Development, chemicals, and clinical research, the accuracy matters the most, and that's why the use of indicating silica gel plays a key role in absorbing moisture from the panel, leading to enhanced performance of gas chromatography panels. A GC panel is an integrated setup in gas chromatography to perform precise analyses.
What is the Role of Indicating Silica Gel in Gas Chromatography Panels?
To maintain the integrity of gas chromatography analysis, indicating silica gel (part of the gas purification panel) plays a crucial role in controlling moisture. These panels typically consist of filters, traps, pressure regulators, pressure gauges, and valves, designed to deliver ultra-high purity (UHP) gases to analytical instruments like gas chromatographs, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) systems, or mass spectrometers (MS).
By removing impurities, the panel enhances analytical accuracy, protects equipment, and extends column and detector lifespan. Indicating silica gel has a high surface area (320-900 m2/g) and a porous structure, and it adsorbs water vapor from the carrier gas. Moisture gets trapped in its polar surface, preventing it from entering the CG column.
People trust silica gel as it increases the life of the column and ensures that the gas stream entering the GC system is dry and free of moisture, protecting the column, detector, and overall system performance.
A plus point about indicating silica gel is that it changes color when fully saturated, indicating moisture levels in real-time within the purification panel and signaling users that it's time to replace or regenerate, preventing possible damage that overly saturated silica gel can cause if it goes unnoticed.
Silica Gel Desiccants is a leading manufacturer and supplier of silica gel. For more information, please contact us via email or phone, as listed on our website.
