I wonder if anyone can offer some suggestions for a cure for peak tailing. I am getting tailing on a system that uses a PE ATD50 and autosystem XL. So far I have
1. Taken 1.5 meters off the end of my column. No improvement.
2. Removed the silica line to the ATD50 and connected the column direct to the cold trap. No improvment.
3. Replaced the septum on the ATD Injector. NO improvment.
4. Adjusted (increased) FID temprature. No improvement.
5. Changed the column completly. No Improvment

Are there any other possible solutions to this problem. If so please feel free to contact me as I am at a loss as to where to go next.
Thanking you in advance for your co-operation.

Sean

The only thing left I can think of is the cold-trap itself. If you haven't already considered this and eliminated it, I suggest repacking the trap. Some sorbent can move out of the cooled zone, or degrade, or the CTH temperature control circuitry is faulty and has overheated the trap but has not triggered a failure code for some reason.

Peak shape in an ATD/GC system depends on both the sampler and the GC conditions. Mike is entirely correct, but you also need to consider the initial GC temperature in relation to the column id and film thickness, as well as the flow settings for the inlet and outlet splits in the ATD (if used). Also, cold spots along the sample path are another source of tailing.