Metrohm 930 Compact IC Flex User manual

930 Compact IC Flex
930 Compact IC Flex Deg
Manual
8.930.8002EN / 2017-07-31

Metrohm AG
CH-9100 Herisau
Switzerland
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
[email protected]
www.metrohm.com
930 Compact IC Flex
930 Compact IC Flex Deg
2.930.1160
Manual
8.930.8002EN / 2017-07-31 zst

Technical Communication
Metrohm AG
CH-9100 Herisau
[email protected]
This documentation is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
This documentation has been prepared with great care. However, errors
can never be entirely ruled out. Please send comments regarding possible
errors to the address above.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ Table of contents
930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ III
Table of contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Instrument description ......................................................... 1
1.2 Intended use ......................................................................... 3
1.3 Safety instructions ................................................................ 3
1.3.1 General notes on safety ........................................................... 3
1.3.2 Electrical safety ........................................................................ 3
1.3.3 Tubing and capillary connections ............................................. 4
1.3.4 Flammable solvents and chemicals ........................................... 5
1.3.5 Recycling and disposal ............................................................. 5
1.4 Symbols and conventions .................................................... 5
2 Overview of the instrument 7
2.1 Front ...................................................................................... 7
2.2 Rear ........................................................................................ 8
2.3 Feed-throughs for capillaries and cables .......................... 10
3 Installation 13
3.1 Setting up the instrument .................................................. 13
3.1.1 Packaging .............................................................................. 13
3.1.2 Checks .................................................................................. 13
3.1.3 Location ................................................................................ 13
3.2 Capillary connections in the IC system ............................. 13
3.3 Removing transport locking screws .................................. 16
3.4 Connecting the drainage tubing and leak sensor ............ 17
3.4.1 Installing the drainage tubing ................................................ 17
3.4.2 Connecting the leak sensor .................................................... 19
3.5 Connecting the eluent bottle ............................................. 19
3.6 Connecting the eluent degasser ........................................ 23
3.7 Installing the high-pressure pump .................................... 23
3.8 Installing an inline filter ..................................................... 24
3.9 Installing the pulsation absorber ...................................... 25
3.10 Injection valve ..................................................................... 26
3.11 Installing the conductivity detector .................................. 28
3.12 Installing the amperometric detector ............................... 29
3.13 Connecting the sample degasser (optional) ..................... 29
3.14 Connecting the instrument to a computer ....................... 31

Table of contents ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
IV ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160)
3.15 Connecting the instrument to the power grid ................. 32
3.16 Initial start-up ..................................................................... 33
3.17 Connecting and rinsing the guard column ....................... 35
3.18 Connecting the separation column ................................... 37
3.19 Conditioning ........................................................................ 40
4 Operation 42
5 Operation and maintenance 43
5.1 IC system ............................................................................. 43
5.1.1 Operation .............................................................................. 43
5.1.2 Care ...................................................................................... 43
5.1.3 Maintenance by Metrohm Service .......................................... 43
5.1.4 Shutting down and recommissioning ..................................... 44
5.2 Capillary connections ......................................................... 45
5.3 Servicing the door .............................................................. 45
5.4 Handling the eluent ............................................................ 45
5.4.1 Manufacturing eluent ............................................................ 46
5.4.2 Changing the eluent .............................................................. 46
5.5 Servicing the eluent degasser ........................................... 47
5.6 Notes on operating the high-pressure pump ................... 47
5.7 Servicing the high-pressure pump .................................... 48
5.8 Servicing the inline filter .................................................... 61
5.9 Servicing the pulsation absorber ...................................... 64
5.10 Injection valve ..................................................................... 64
5.11 Servicing the detector ........................................................ 64
5.12 Rinsing the sample path .................................................... 64
5.13 Separation column ............................................................. 66
5.13.1 Separating efficiency .............................................................. 66
5.13.2 Protecting the separation column .......................................... 66
5.13.3 Storing the separation column ............................................... 66
5.13.4 Regenerating the separation column ...................................... 66
5.14 Quality management and qualification with Metrohm ... 67
6 Troubleshooting 68
6.1 ............................................................................................. 68
7 Technical specifications 72
7.1 Reference conditions .......................................................... 72
7.2 Instrument ........................................................................... 72

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ Table of contents
930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ V
7.3 Ambient conditions ............................................................ 72
7.4 Housing ............................................................................... 73
7.5 Weight ................................................................................. 73
7.6 Leak sensor ......................................................................... 73
7.7 Eluent degasser .................................................................. 73
7.8 High-pressure pump ........................................................... 74
7.9 Injection valve ..................................................................... 75
7.10 Detector ............................................................................... 75
7.11 Sample degasser ................................................................. 75
7.12 Power connection ............................................................... 75
7.13 Interfaces ............................................................................. 76
8 Accessories 77
Index 78

Table of figures ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
VI ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160)
Table of figures
Figure 1 Front ................................................................................................. 7
Figure 2 Rear .................................................................................................. 8
Figure 3 Feed-throughs on the door .............................................................. 10
Figure 4 Openings for capillaries and cables .................................................. 11
Figure 5 Ducts for capillaries ......................................................................... 12
Figure 6 Removing the transport locking screws ............................................ 16
Figure 7 Installing the eluent bottle cap ........................................................ 20
Figure 8 Installing tubing weighting and aspiration filter ................................ 21
Figure 9 High-pressure pump with purge valve .............................................. 24
Figure 10 Inline filter ....................................................................................... 25
Figure 11 Pulsation absorber ........................................................................... 25
Figure 12 Exchanging the sample loop ............................................................ 27
Figure 13 High-pressure pump – Parts ............................................................. 48
Figure 14 High-pressure pump – Cross-section ................................................ 55
Figure 15 Tool for piston seal (6.2617.010) ..................................................... 56
Figure 16 Removing the piston cartridge from the pump head ........................ 56
Figure 17 Inserting the piston seal into the tool ............................................... 57
Figure 18 Parts of the piston cartridge ............................................................ 58
Figure 19 Inline filter – Removing the filter ...................................................... 62

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 1 Introduction
930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 1
1 Introduction
1.1 Instrument description
The 930 Compact IC Flex is a robust ion chromatograph. It is distinguished
by:
￭Its intelligence: All of the functions are monitored, optimized and docu-
mented in an FDA-compatible manner. Intelligent components, such as
iColumns, save important data onto a chip.
￭Its compact design: It has a small footprint.
￭Its transparency: All components are easily accessible and located for
simple visibility and can be monitored during operation through a large
window.
￭Its safety: The wet end and the electronics are physically separated,
thereby preventing fluids from coming into contact with the electronics
to a large extent. A leak sensor is integrated into the wet end.
￭Its environmental compatibility.
￭Its low noise emission.
￭The intelligent MagIC Net software.
The 930 Compact IC Flex is operated using the MagIC Net software. A
USB cable is used to connect the instrument to a computer with
MagIC Net installed. The intelligent software detects the instrument auto-
matically and checks its functionality. The software controls and monitors
the instrument, evaluates the measured data and manages it in a data-
base.
The 930 Compact IC Flex Deg consists of the following modules:
Housing
The sturdy housing contains the instrument's electronic components,
including their interfaces and one connector for a separation column. In
addition, the housing provides space for a conductivity detector or an
amperometric detector. Capillaries and cables can be fed into and out of
the instrument through several openings.
Leak sensor
The leak sensor detects leaking liquid that collects in the instrument's base
tray. Liquid that leaks in the instrument is routed to the base tray using
drainage tubing and detected there.
Eluent degasser
The eluent degasser removes gas bubbles and dissolved gases from the
eluent.

1.1 Instrument description ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
2￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160)
High-pressure pump
The intelligent and low-pulsation high-pressure pump pumps the eluent
through the IC system. It is equipped with a chip where its technical speci-
fications and "life history" (operating hours, service data, etc.) are stored.
Inline filter
Inline filters protect the separation column reliably from potential contami-
nation from the eluent. The filter pads with 2 µm pore size can be
replaced quickly and easily. They remove particles from the solutions, such
as bacteria and algae.
Pulsation absorber
The pulsation absorber protects the separation column from damage
caused by pressure fluctuations, e.g. when the injection valve is switched,
and reduces interfering pulsations during highly sensitive measurements.
Injection valve
The injection valve connects the eluent path to the sample path. By a
quick and precise switching of the valve, a quantity of sample solution
defined by the size of the sample loop is injected and flushed to the sepa-
ration column with the eluent.
Detector
Metrohm offers a series of different detectors for various analysis tasks. A
suitable detector type must be ordered as a separate device.
Sample degasser
The sample degasser removes gas bubbles and dissolved gases from the
sample.
Separation column
The intelligent separation column separates different components accord-
ing to their interactions with the column. Metrohm separation columns
are equipped with a chip where their technical specifications and history
(start-up, operating hours, injections etc) are stored.

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930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 3
1.2 Intended use
The 930 Compact IC Flex Deg is used for the determination of cations,
polar substances and anions without suppression using ion chromatogra-
phy.
This instrument is suitable for processing chemicals and flammable sam-
ples. Therefore, the use of the 930 Compact IC Flex requires the user to
have basic knowledge and experience in handling toxic and caustic sub-
stances. Knowledge regarding the application of fire prevention measures
prescribed for laboratories is also mandatory.
1.3 Safety instructions
1.3.1 General notes on safety
WARNING
This instrument may only be operated in accordance with the specifica-
tions in this documentation.
This instrument has left the factory in a flawless state in terms of technical
safety. To maintain this state and ensure non-hazardous operation of the
instrument, the following instructions must be observed carefully.
1.3.2 Electrical safety
The electrical safety when working with the instrument is ensured as part
of the international standard IEC 61010.
WARNING
Only personnel qualified by Metrohm are authorized to carry out service
work on electronic components.
WARNING
Never open the housing of the instrument. The instrument could be
damaged by this. There is also a risk of serious injury if live components
are touched.
There are no parts inside the housing which can be serviced or replaced
by the user.

1.3 Safety instructions ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
4￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160)
Supply voltage
WARNING
An incorrect supply voltage can damage the instrument.
Only operate this instrument with a supply voltage specified for it (see
rear panel of the instrument).
Protection against electrostatic charges
WARNING
Electronic components are sensitive to electrostatic charges and can be
destroyed by discharges.
Do not fail to pull the power cord out of the power socket before you
set up or disconnect electrical plug connections at the rear of the
instrument.
1.3.3 Tubing and capillary connections
CAUTION
Leaks in tubing and capillary connections are a safety risk. Tighten all
connections well by hand. Avoid applying excessive force to tubing con-
nections. Damaged tubing ends lead to leakage. Appropriate tools can
be used to loosen connections.
Check the connections regularly for leakage. If the instrument is used
mainly in unattended operation, then weekly inspections are manda-
tory.

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930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 5
1.3.4 Flammable solvents and chemicals
WARNING
All relevant safety measures are to be observed when working with
flammable solvents and chemicals.
￭Set up the instrument in a well-ventilated location (e.g. fume cup-
board).
￭Keep all sources of flame far from the workplace.
￭Clean up spilled liquids and solids immediately.
￭Follow the safety instructions of the chemical manufacturer.
1.3.5 Recycling and disposal
This product is covered by European Directive 2012/19/EU, WEEE – Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
The correct disposal of your old instrument will help to prevent negative
effects on the environment and public health.
More details about the disposal of your old instrument can be obtained
from your local authorities, from waste disposal companies or from your
local dealer.
1.4 Symbols and conventions
The following symbols and formatting may appear in this documentation:
Cross-reference to figure legend
The first number refers to the figure number, the sec-
ond to the instrument part in the figure.
Instruction step
Carry out these steps in the sequence shown.
Method Dialog text, parameter in the software
File ▶ New Menu or menu item
[Next] Button or key
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible life-threat-
ening hazard or risk of injury.

1.4 Symbols and conventions ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
6￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160)
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible hazard due
to electrical current.
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible hazard due
to heat or hot instrument parts.
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible biological
hazard.
CAUTION
This symbol draws attention to possible damage to
instruments or instrument parts.
NOTE
This symbol highlights additional information and
tips.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 2 Overview of the instrument
930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 7
2 Overview of the instrument
2.1 Front
Figure 1 Front
1Bottle holder
Offers space for the eluent bottle and addi-
tional accessories.
2Column holder
For hanging the separation column (iCol-
umn). With column recognition.
3Column chamber 4Sample degasser
5Inline filter 6Injection valve
7Pulsation absorber 8Base tray
With leak sensor.

2.2 Rear ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
8￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160)
9Purge valve
For deaerating the high-pressure pump.
With rotary knob in the center and pressure
sensor.
10 High-pressure pump
Pumps the eluent through the IC system.
11 Eluent degasser 12 Detector chamber
Offers space for an embedded detector and
additional accessories.
2.2 Rear
Figure 2 Rear
1Bottle holder 2Drainage tubing connection
For connecting the drainage tubing, which
guides escaped fluids away from the bottle
holder.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 2 Overview of the instrument
930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 9
3Knurled screws
For fastening the removable back panel.
4Back panel
Removable. Enables access to the detector
chamber.
5Drainage tubing connection
For connecting the drainage tubing, which
guides escaped liquids away from the detec-
tor chamber.
6Transport locking screws
For securing the vacuum pump when trans-
porting the instrument.
7Exhaust opening
Labeled Exhaust. For extracting the air from
the vacuum chamber.
8Auxiliary connection socket
For connecting an 891 Professional Analog
Out (2.891.0010).
9Service connection socket
For Metrohm service only.
10 Transport locking screws
For securing the high-pressure pump when
transporting the instrument.
11 Drainage tubing connections
For connecting two drainage tubings that
guide the escaped fluid to the leak sensor
and from there to the waste container.
12 Base tray
With leak sensor.
13 Type plate 14 Serial number
15 Leak sensor connection socket
Labeled Leak Sensor. For connecting the
leak sensor connection cable.
16 Detector connection socket
Labeled Detector. For connecting Metrohm
detectors.
17 MSB connection sockets
Labeled MSB 1 and MSB 2. For connecting
MSB devices.
18 USB connection sockets
Labeled USB 1 and USB 2. For connecting
USB devices.
19 PC connection socket
For connecting the instrument to the com-
puter with the USB cable (6.2151.020).
20 Vacuum connection
Plugged with a stopper.
21 Power socket
Power socket for connecting the power
cable and power switch for switching the
instrument on and off.

2.3 Feed-throughs for capillaries and cables ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
10 ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160)
2.3 Feed-throughs for capillaries and cables
Multiple openings are available for leading capillaries into the instrument
and for leading capillaries and cables out of the instrument:
￭Openings on the door
￭Openings on the back panel
￭Ducts between the instrument and the base tray as well as between
the instrument and the bottle holder (see Figure 5, page 12)
Openings on the door
Figure 3 Feed-throughs on the door
1Luer connector
For connecting a capillary from inside and
for inserting a syringe (6.2816.020) from
outside. For manual sample injection.
2Opening for capillaries
For up to 3 capillaries.
An opening for up to 3 capillaries is located on the door of the instru-
ment.
The two Luer connections above are not actually openings; the capillaries
are fastened to the Luer connection from within using PEEK pressure
screws. You can use a syringe to inject or draw out liquid from the out-
side.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 2 Overview of the instrument
930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 11
Openings on the back panel
Figure 4 Openings for capillaries and cables
1Openings for capillaries 2Openings for cables
The removable back panel is outfitted with openings through which capil-
laries and cables can be lead out of the detector chamber.
Ducts for capillaries
There are ducts for capillaries between the instrument and base tray as
well as between the instrument and the bottle holder. The capillaries can
be fed to the front of the instrument from both sides of the instrument
and from the front of the instrument to the back of the instrument.

2.3 Feed-throughs for capillaries and cables ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
12 ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 930 Compact IC Flex Deg (2.930.1160)
Figure 5 Ducts for capillaries