Calculation of Hawaiian Volcanic Gas Composition by Electronic Integration and the IBM 360

Abstract

With the advent of today’s precise analytical instruments it often becomes true that the scientist’s most time consuming fallible step in the evaluation of data is the converting of raw data into usable data. Gas chromatography is quite unique in this respect because of the several different methods employed to measure the area of a peak. The main differences between methods are cost, time, and precision. As far as the peak height, cut and weigh, planimetry and height x width at half-height methods are concerned their cost is minimal, but they are very tedious. Area measurement using a commercial electronic integrator or a computer system are highly accurate and fast but are usually not within the budgetary limitations of most departments. The relative merits and downfalls of different peak area methods can be summarized as follows: the peak height method, although not really an area measurement, is often used because of its simplicity and speed. This method is only valuable if column temperature, flow rate and type of gas are accurately controlled. The cut and weight method of cutting out the peaks, and weighing them is very time consuming and destroys the chromatogram.