Direct determination of oxygenated compounds in complex mixtures by capillary gas chromatography

A method has been developed for the direct determination of oxygenated compounds in complex mixtures by capillary gas chromatography on a fused-silica column, coated with a polar stationary phase. Compounds identified and determined without derivatization include carboxylic acids, primary alcohols, n-aldehydes, methyl esters and ketones. The chromatographic system consists of a fused-silica capillary column, 50 meters in length, with a coating of AT-1000 (FFAP). The selectivity of this phase enables the separation of the oxygenated compounds from the hydrocarbons in these complex mixtures and distributes them by molecular weight into characteristic peak envelopes for each class of oxygenate. The free carboxylic acids peaks elute with minimal tailing and adsorption.