We have a Chromatograph with .53 megabore column hooked to a headspace analyzer on the inlet side and an FID on the detector side. We had 30 samples loaded in the headspace sampler when the hydrogen generator shut down after about 15 samples. When I came in next morning, the flame on the FID was out but all 30 samples had injected. Only 15 had graphs with peaks. The other 15 were straight lines. When I lit the flame, I had a signal of 15000 or so (normally it is around 2.0) Over a period of 6 hours or so, the signal has come down but is still around 100. (By the way hydrogen is also the carrier gas). What is happening. Have the VOCs in the sample ruined the column overnight?

The elution through the column is the same whether the FID is lit or not, so the samples themselves couldn't have damaged the column.

maybe the flame went out because the flow of hydrogen through the column had stopped for some reason.

Winsley,
If the hydrogen was the carrier also and was off for that long of a period with the column heated (I assume a temperature program also) then most likely the column has suffered some damage. You might be able to recover it well enough to use it a while longer but conditioning it again near its upper temp. limit or by whatever procedure the manufacturer might have included with the column initially. Bottom line is you might have to get a new column to recover fully.

Regards,
Mark