On the Trail of Unknown Substances: NMB Expands Its Analytical Equipment

GC-MS technology is based on the separation of a mixture of substances by gas chromatography, followed by the identification of the substances present through their mass spectrum in comparison with corresponding spectral databases. 

Particularly in recycling, materials from different applications and adhering substances create a risk of contaminating the material stream with undesirable substances, which precludes their use in certain areas (for example, food packaging). The new GC-MS can now be used to investigate material streams qualitatively and semi-quantitatively for contamination. Of particular importance is the evaluation of the various cleaning steps and their impact on the quantity of undesirable substances, in order to assess the cost-benefit aspects of cleaning steps. 

GC-MS now enables Neue Materialien Bayreuth GmbH to evaluate recycling processes and thereby develop an optimized recycling process for the respective issue in our mechanical recycling pilot plant. 

Other fields of application include the investigation of outgassing from various material samples, the determination of substances in unknown mixtures of materials, and other questions from analytical and regulatory areas.