IR4 - Stand-Alone Infrared Detector for Polyolefin Characterisation by Polymer Char

IR4 is a dual wavelength stand-alone infrared detector, which uses the principle of infrared absorption spectroscopy to measure the concentration and composition in Polyolefins.


Overview

IR4 is a dual wavelength stand-alone infrared detector, which uses the principle of infrared absorption spectroscopy to measure the concentration and composition in Polyolefins.

IR4 is designed to determine the on-line concentration and composition in HPLC, GPC or to be coupled with other separation techniques like CRYSTAF, TREF, etc., and it has been showed to be the most appropriate detector for Polyolefins.

It consists of two modules: Spectroscopic unit and Control unit. Spectroscopic Unit hosts the flow through cell and sensors. This unit must be connected in line with the analytical system. Control unit has a microprocessor to manage the whole device and the signals acquisition.

When adding a composition or a carbonyls sensor, other useful information can be obtained in addition to the concentration. Thanks to this capability, IR4 can be used for applications in High Temperature GPC analyses like ethylene percent contents in Polypropylene copolymers, vinyl acetate in EVA, etc.

Both serial communication and also analog and digital outputs are incorporated, as well as control and acquisition software package which can be directly linked with Polymer Char’s GPC Calculations software modules.

Features

· Concentration and composition measurement in liquid separation techniques like GPC, TREF, CRYSTAF, HPLC, etc.
· Excelent baseline stability.
· Short stabilization time.
· Possibility of adding a composition sensor.
· Easy coupling to GPC instruments, HPLC systems and other separation techniques such as TREF, CRYSTAF, etc.
· Data collection through serial port or through analog outputs.
· Simple data processing.
· Vapor sensors and alarms system incorporated.
· Heated flow through cell and transfer line incorporated.
· No need for external utilities/gases.


Software

A control and acquisition software has been developed to use the serial communication option in the IR4 Detector. Therefore, only one RS-232 standard cable is required to acquire the signals and to control the device.

Signals from measurement sensors and system control signals (temperature controls, vapor sensors) can be monitored and reviewed at any time as they are saved automatically in the computer. Signals corresponding to different injections are saved correspondingly by the software to facilitate subsequent calculations.

IR4 Control and Acquisition Software can be easily linked to Polymer Char’s GPC One Software modules, together with other detectors present within the same instrument.

IR4 Software also provides exportation capabilities in Excel format; therefore acquired data can be imported if needed into other software packages to perform the corresponding calculations.