Application
This selectivity can be a problem or an advantage. For example, a FID is excellent for detecting methane in nitrogen, since it would respond to the methane but not to the nitrogen.
FIDs are best for detecting hydrocarbons and other easily flammable components. They are very sensitive to these components, and response tends to be linear across a wide range of concentrations.
However, an FID destroys most, if not all, of the components it is detecting. Contrarily, with a TCD the components can continue on to another detector after passing through the TCD; thus it is considered a non-destructive detector (this can be useful for analyzing complex mixtures where different detectors are needed because of differing detector selectivities). However, with an FID, most components are destroyed and no further detection is possible.
For this reason, in multiple-detector situations, the FID is almost always the last detector. An FID essentially can only detect components which can be burned. Other components may be ionized by simply passing through the FID's flame, but they tend not to create enough signal to rise above the noise of the detector.
FIDs can also be integrated into portable measurement devices and used, for example, for Landfill gas monitoring and fugitive emissions monitoring.
Read more about this topic: Flame Ionization Detector
Famous quotes containing the word application:
“The human mind is capable of excitement without the application of gross and violent stimulants; and he must have a very faint perception of its beauty and dignity who does not know this.”
—William Wordsworth (1770–1850)
“Preaching is the expression of the moral sentiment in application to the duties of life.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“It would be disingenuous, however, not to point out that some things are considered as morally certain, that is, as having sufficient certainty for application to ordinary life, even though they may be uncertain in relation to the absolute power of God.”
—René Descartes (1596–1650)