Heated Cube for Next Generation Mass Spectrometry

BCE Heated Cube

BACKGROUND

An analytical company approached BCE for their small space and high temperature heated gas requirement.  They needed to reduce the length and diameter of the current heat source to be able to fit into a more compact design for their next generation mass spectrometry tool.

SCOPE

• The Heated Cube needed to satisfy the following:
• Temperature up to 500°C   
• Small, compact footprint 
• Insulate heat source to retain heat and reduce outer temperature 
• Reduce size from a 36” long cylinder to a 2” square cube 
• 120-Volt 200-Watt 
• Must pass all electrical safety and Meg-Ohm requirements 
• Air path must be clean and free from ni-chrome wire exposure (chromium flaking) 

OUTCOME

BCE produced a highly effective high temperature clean gas electric air heater with a major reduction in size.  A stainless steel gas heating package with a footprint of 2” x 1 ½”x 1” was the result.  This heater is compact and has an inlet of 1/8” BSPP and a 1/16” NPT outlet with a 36” long heated path that maximizes heat transfer to the fullest.

There are two zones of heat each at 100 watt with two sensors, one to control and one to monitor the temperature.  The outlet temperature can reach up to 500°C.

The Heated Cube comes complete with insulation and a SST jacket.  It can be mounted in an extremely tight space for most OEM tools that put a premium on space and performance.  Liquid and gas medium can be processed with this design.

Call BCE today at 510-274-1990 for more information, or visit their web site at https://bcemfg.com.

Mass Spectrometer Heaters

Mass spectrometry (or mass spectroscopy) is a technique of analyzing and identifying chemical substances by arranging gaseous ions in electromagnetic fields based upon their mass-to-charge ratios. A mass spectrometer is the instrument used in this analysis. Mass spectrometers operate according to a principle first discovered in 1898 by Wilhelm Wien, a German physicist, who determined that moving ions can be deflected by electromagnetic fields.

The mass spectrometers can be broken down into (5) basic components:

1. The high vacuum system.
2. The sampling system - the area is where the sample is conditioned and introduced.
3. The ion source - the area is where the charged particle ion beam is produced.
4. The analyzer - where the ion beam is separated into its components.
5. The detector - where the ion beam separation data is collected.

A variety of heater used in mass spec.

Mass spectrometry is used for the identification of chemical elements to quantify their precise mass and concentration; for  analyzing organic and inorganic chemicals to detect small amounts of impurities;  analyzing complex organic material structure; determining chemical bond strength; and determining an unknown materials chemical and isotopic makeup.

Mass spectrometer heating elements, referred to as source heaters or gas line heaters, are used in mass spectrometers are used to turn the sample (typically in an aqueous or organic solution) into a vapor for analysis. The heaters are part of the sample conditioning system, prior to the analyzer and detector areas, where the vaporized sample is then bombarded by ionized high-energy electrons and analyzed.

An alternative design heater.

Heaters used in mass spectrometers are compact in design and provide a fairly high power density. They are fast responding and operate at temperatures up to 400 deg. C. They include internal temperature sensors for accurate control and limiting. While mass spec vary in form and fit, they all provide the same basic function -  as the energy source for the vaporization of the sample containing the atoms or molecules of interest.

BCE (Belilove Company-Engineers) is a leading manufacturer of electric heating elements for mass spectrometers. With decades of experience in custom engineering and design of heating elements for analytical instrumentation, they are an excellent candidate to discuss the unique needs of your application.

Yet another style mass spec heater.

BCE

https://bcemfg.com

510-274-1990

What is an Atmospheric-pressure Chemical Ionization (APCI) Heater?

Diagram of APCI highlighting heating element.

For more information
on APCI heaters call BCE
at (510) 274-1990 or visit
Belilove.com/apci-heater

Mass spectrometers work by removing target components as ions in a gas phase, and then detect them as ions under high vacuum. In the development of liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry (LC-MS) a significant problem arises from the vaporization from liquid mobile phase when large amounts of gas can be introduced into the mass spectrometer (MS), and thus decreasing the level of vacuum and impinging the ability of ions to reach the detector.

Dealing with the mobile phase and preventing the introduction of the smallest amounts of gas is critical in LC-MS.

Atmospheric-pressure Chemical Ionization (APCI)

One solution is to use Atmospheric-pressure Chemical Ionization, a specific type of chemical ionization. Atmospheric-pressure Chemical Ionization vaporizes solvent and sample molecules by spraying the sample solution into a heater (approx. 400 °C) using a carrier gas, such as Nitrogen. The solvent molecules become ionized via corona discharge and generate stable reaction ions in the mass spectrometer.

An APCI heater is a specialty electric heating element that has a resistance temperature detector (RTD) built-in for accurate temperature control, a .016” ID capillary tube in the center of the heater axis and a maximum operating temperature is up to 400°C.  This assembly also comes complete with the connector plug.

For more information on APCI heaters contact BCE at (510) 274-1990 or visit http://www.belilove.com/apci-heater.