Hydrogen as Carrier Gas: Always Available, Cost Effective and Fast – A Personal Reflection

Hydrogen is on the agenda again. Since the supply of helium has become a challenge, many labs are now considering the use of hydrogen as the carrier gas of choice. Most chromatographers agree that hydrogen is the best choice,because of the advantages on analysis time and availability, but safety management issues are the primary concerns with many chromatographers. Hydrogen can be generated safely in the lab and if you make the calculations, you will find that commercial gas generators are cost effective and will pay for their purchase price in a relative short time, particularly since the price of helium is high and unlikely to come down in the future. The focus of this paper will be to investigate the practical impact of using hydrogen in the lab and what other aspects need to be considered.