Mineral Oil Analysis in Recycled Fibre Food Packaging
Verify MOSH and MOAH compliance in recycled fibre packaging using accredited HPLC-GC-FID testing, validated functional barriers, and complete declarations of compliance.
HPLC-GC-FID Chromatography
Separation System
Hyphenated chromatographic techniques isolate and quantify complex organic mixtures present in food packaging materials and paperboard extracts. Combining coupled liquid chromatography and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection enables high sensitivity analysis of non-polar hydrocarbons. Utilizing HPLC-GC-FID chromatography allows analytical chemists to separate mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons from aromatic hydrocarbons before thermal separation in the gas phase.
Liquid chromatography fractionates sample extracts based on chemical polarity, directing clean hydrocarbon groups through transfer interfaces into capillary gas chromatography columns. Flame ionization detectors provide uniform mass response factors for quantified hydrocarbon humps.
Column Fractionation
Matrix interferences such as natural plant waxes and synthetic polyolefin oligomers overlap with mineral oil retention windows during gas chromatography. Liquid chromatography columns retain polar substances while separating saturated hydrocarbons from aromatic hydrocarbons into two distinct fractions. Executing HPLC-GC-FID chromatography demands accurate transfer timing through solvent-evaporation interfaces to prevent sample loss or volatile component discrimination.
Solvent vapor exit valves remove mobile phase solvents like hexane and dichloromethane prior to injection into the gas chromatography column. Flame ionization detection yields precise quantification independent of specific hydrocarbon isomer structures.
Integration Boundary
Signal processing software integrates broad unresolved complex mixture humps rising above the baseline signal. Overlapping biogenic interference peaks require manual baseline correction or preliminary chemical cleanup like silica gel fractionation or epoxidation. HPLC-GC-FID chromatography serves as the reference standard method for mineral oil migration testing in food contact packaging.