A Gas Chromatograph-Pedestal Olfactometer (GC-PO) for the Study of Odor Mixtures

Gas chromatography – Olfactometry (GC-O) purifies odorants and delivers them as 1 to 2 second doses to an olfactometer where their odor properties (quale and intensity) can be studied independent of other odors. Adding an odor to the olfactometer air before combining it with the GC effluent creates an odor pedestal upon which an odorant eluting from the GC can be studied to provide insight into mixture perception. This paper describes the development and testing of a gas chromatography - pedestal olfactometer (GC-PO) that produces a Gaussian shaped distribution of one odorant in a background of constant odor composition (the pedestal).