Chromatography for Chemical Separation: Types and Uses

Abstract

Chromatography is an analytical tool that is used for separating a variety of chemical mixtures. This technique was developed somewhere during the 1940s to 1950s. Initially, the technique had low efficiency with prolonged time of analysis and reduced detection range. Later, the technique was modified and improved to meet the demands of chemical separation technology. Chromatography is broadly categorized into analytical or preparative. Analytical chromatography is used for small sample sizes such as those used in an environmental laboratory in order to separate compounds from different kinds of mixture. This type of chromatography is used to separate specific compounds from mixture of pollutants. In case of preparative chromatography, large quantities of samples are used and the output is collected in bulk. This method is used to remove impurities from a commercial product.