Hydrogen carrier gas, nitrogen make-up gas, and hydrocarbon-free zero air for FID fuel — generated on demand in your lab. Eliminate cylinders, improve separation performance, and reduce your total cost of ownership.
Every gas chromatography system requires three gas supplies working together. Here is what each one does, what purity it needs, and which generator delivers it.
Carries your sample through the column. Hydrogen provides faster analysis times, sharper peaks, and better resolution than helium — at a fraction of the cost.
Supplements carrier gas flow at the detector to maintain optimal linear velocity and detector sensitivity. Essential when using capillary columns with low carrier flow rates.
The FID detector burns hydrogen in zero air to create an ionization flame. Air quality directly affects baseline noise — hydrocarbon contamination causes drift and ghost peaks.
Hydrogen has a flatter van Deemter curve than helium, meaning you can increase carrier gas velocity without sacrificing separation efficiency. In practice, this translates to analysis times that are 30–50% shorter with equivalent or better resolution.
With global helium supply constraints driving prices upward and creating periodic shortages, hydrogen from an on-site generator provides a stable, unlimited supply at a predictable cost. Your GC never waits for a delivery.
Safety: Modern hydrogen generators produce gas on demand at low pressure and low volume. The total hydrogen inventory on the instrument is typically less than 100 mL — far less than the 6,000+ liters in a compressed cylinder. Built-in leak detection and automatic shut-off make generator-supplied hydrogen safer than cylinder hydrogen.
Most GC and GC-MS instruments can run hydrogen carrier gas with a simple method adjustment — no hardware changes needed. We provide conversion support including method translation, flow optimization, and leak testing for labs switching from helium.
Capillary GC columns operate at very low carrier gas flow rates (1–5 mL/min), but most detectors perform best at much higher total gas flows (20–60 mL/min). Make-up gas bridges this gap by adding flow at the detector without affecting column separation.
Without adequate make-up gas, you get peak broadening, reduced sensitivity, and inconsistent detector response. This is especially critical for ECD, TCD, and NPD detectors where optimal flow is tightly specified.
Purity matters: Trace oxygen and moisture in make-up gas degrade ECD sensitivity and accelerate column degradation. A PSA nitrogen generator delivering 99.999%+ purity with documented dew point eliminates the batch-to-batch variability you get from cylinders.
The Flame Ionization Detector burns hydrogen in zero air to create a micro-flame that ionizes organic compounds as they elute from the column. The detector’s sensitivity is directly affected by the purity of both gases.
Zero air quality is critical. Residual hydrocarbons in the combustion air create a background signal that raises your baseline, increases noise, and can produce ghost peaks. Cylinder “zero air” often contains 0.1–1 ppm total hydrocarbons, while a catalytic oxidation zero air generator delivers <0.05 ppm THC consistently.
Hydrogen for FID fuel: The FID also requires a separate hydrogen supply (30–40 mL/min) for the flame. This can come from the same generator supplying carrier gas, or from a dedicated unit. The HGA ST series combines hydrogen and zero air generation in a single stackable unit — purpose-built for FID applications.
The HGA ST PRO generates both hydrogen (up to 600 cc/min) and zero air (2000 cc/min) from a single stackable unit. It supplies carrier gas and FID fuel simultaneously, eliminating two cylinder types with one device.
Quick reference for gas requirements by detector type.
| Detector | Carrier Gas | Make-Up Gas | Detector Gas | Recommended Generator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FID MOST COMMON | H₂ or He | N₂ (25–30 mL/min) | H₂ (30–40 mL/min) + Air (300–400 mL/min) | HG PRO + ZA Total |
| TCD | H₂ or He | Same as carrier | — | HG PRO or NG EOLO |
| ECD | H₂ or N₂ | N₂ (30–60 mL/min) | — | NG EOLO (99.9999%) |
| NPD / FPD | H₂ or He | N₂ | H₂ + Air | HG PRO + ZA FID Air + NG EOLO |
| MS (GC-MS) | H₂ or He | — | — | HG PRO (99.99999%) |
| FPD | H₂ or He | N₂ | H₂ + Air | HG PRO + ZA Total |
Laboratories that switch from cylinder supply to on-site generation for their GC systems consistently report these benefits.
Eliminate gas invoices, cylinder rental, delivery surcharges, and the hidden labor costs of cylinder management. Payback period typically 6–18 months.
No more Friday afternoon gas shortages or interrupted overnight sequences. Your generator runs 24/7 as long as it has power.
Every milliliter from your generator is the same purity. No batch-to-batch variation, no end-of-cylinder contaminant concentration.
No high-pressure cylinders (2,200 psi) rolling through hallways. Generators operate at low pressure with automatic leak detection and shut-off.
Hydrogen carrier gas reduces GC run times by 30–50% compared to helium, increasing sample throughput without sacrificing resolution.
Eliminate 50–100+ cylinder delivery truck trips per year. Reduce your lab’s carbon footprint and supply chain complexity.
Our gas generators are instrument-agnostic and work with every GC and GC-MS platform from every major manufacturer.
7890, 8890, 8860 GC series. 5977, 7000, 7010 GC-MS/MS. Intuvo 9000. Micro GC. All detector types supported.
Nexis GC-2030. GCMS-QP2050. GCMS-TQ8050 NX. AOC-6000 Plus. Full compatibility with all Shimadzu detector options.
TRACE 1310 / 1610 GC. ISQ 7610 single quad. TSQ 9610 triple quad. All carrier, make-up, and detector gas configurations.
Xevo TQ-GC. Xevo G3 QTof. APGC ionization source. Compatible with hydrogen carrier gas operation.
Clarus GC 690/SQ 8 MS. TurboMatrix headspace. Carrier, make-up, and FID gases for all configurations.
Pegasus BT 4D GCxGC-TOFMS. Pegasus HRT+ 4D. High-purity hydrogen carrier gas for comprehensive 2D GC.
SCION 8300/8500 GC. SCION SQ and TQ MS. Full detector gas support for environmental and petrochemical applications.
Central gas supply systems for labs running multiple GC instruments from different manufacturers. One generator feeds your entire lab.
Tell us which GC instruments you run, which detectors you use, and how many hours per day they operate. We will recommend the right combination of generators and calculate your ROI.