Quantitative production of H2 by pyrolysis of gas chromatographic effluents

Hydrogen gas can be produced quantitatively from nanomole amounts of organic Hin continuously flowing gas streams. The system described here is suitable for use in isotope-ratio-monitoring mass spectrometric systems and is based on a pyrolysis reactor consisting of a graphitized alumina tube heated to 1450 degrees C, Methane forms as an intermediate product at temperatures above 750 degrees C, but, for all tested analytes, yields of H-2 were quantitative at temperatures between 1430 and 1460 degrees C, provided residence times in the reactor were greater than 300 ms. Quantitative yields of H-2 were obtained for all components of a homologous series of n-alkanes (C-15 to C-30) Analyses of low-molecular-weight alcohols demonstrated that O-bound H was also quantitatively converted to H-2 and, thus, that H2O, if formed, was quantitatively reduced to H-2.