The thermal conductivity detector (tcd), H_1377, H_1379 – BUCHI DuMaster D-480 User Manual
Page 45: O_3633

Operation Manual D-480
©BÜCH Labortechnik AG
4 - Understanding the instrument and planning its use
45
6
Post combustion tube with
tube filling
Oxidation of the combustion products at the CuO/Pt
catalyst
7
Reduction tube with tube
filling
Binds excess oxygen.
Reduces NO
X
to N
2
.
Binds volatile halogen compounds and sulfurous
compounds.
For details on the processes in the furnace area, cf. Substance digestion and preparation of the
reaction gas mixture (on page 47).
Gas drying (III)
The following table describes the components of the unit and their functions:
Part
Name
Function
8
Drying tube and water
condenser
Removes H
2
O from the measuring gas.
Detector (IV)
The following table describes the components of the unit and their functions:
Part
Name
Function
9
Reference cell
reacts to fluctuations in the composition of the analysis gas
mixture with an electrical signal to which a measuring
component can be assigned.
10
Measuring cell
see "Reference cell".
For details on the working principle of the detectors, see Detecting measuring components and
evaluating the measuring signal (on page 48).
The thermal conductivity detector (TCD)
Design
The thermal conductivity detector (TCD) consists of two chambers through which the analysis gas
mixture (measuring cell) and the pure carriage gas (reference cell) simultaneously flow through during
the analysis. The chambers form a measuring bridge.
Working principle
The thermal conductivity of the carrier gas reacts sensitively on the addition of small amounts of
foreign gases such as the measuring component N. If this measuring component exists in the
analysis gas mixture, this leads to a disturbance of the measuring bridge that is registered in the form
of an electrical signal.
Further processing of the measuring signal
The TCD measuring signal is digitized, integrated and output by the instrument to the PC, where it is
registered in the form of a measuring peak dependent on time,
and the integral is correlated with the absolute quantity of the respective measuring component
by calibration functions.