Design and Characterization of a Printed Circuit Board-Based Gas Chromatography Column for Greenhouse Gas Analysis

Herein we report the development of a printed circuit board-based gas chromatography column (PCB-GC), its characterization, and demonstrate its use for process or environmental monitoring of greenhouse gases. This type of device is desirable for prototyping or for implementation in low size, weight, or power systems. The PCB-GC device is comprised of two PCB boards metalized with gold for a solderable, inert column surface. The top layer houses the fluidic connections and built-in heater while the bottom layer has the rectangular channel ($1.5 \text{mm }\mathrm{x}1.6 \text{mm} \mathrm{x}1$ m) designed to be packed with particles for gas separation. The devices integrated heater supported rates as high as $50^{\mathrm{o}}\mathrm{C}/\min$ at over $100^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$. Column efficiency found to be optimal between 10 and 20 mL/min. Using HayeSep D as the packing material, separation of methane and carbon dioxide from a greenhouse gas mixture near $30^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ was achieved. Initial cost metrics for research level manufacturing quantities was in the range of $200 per column.