Metrohm 940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB User manual

940 Professional IC Vario
940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB
Manual
8.940.8030EN / 2022-11-15

Metrohm AG
CH-9100 Herisau
Switzerland
[phone]
[email protected]
www.metrohm.com
940 Professional IC Vario
940 Professional IC Vario
ONE/SeS/PP/MB
2.940.1580
Manual
8.940.8030EN / 2022-11-15

Technical Communication
Metrohm AG
CH-9100 Herisau
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.
Disclaimer
Deficiencies arising from circumstances that are not the responsibility of
Metrohm, such as improper storage or improper use, etc., are expressly
excluded from the warranty. Unauthorized modifications to the product
(e.g. conversions or attachments) exclude any liability on the part of the
manufacturer for resulting damage and its consequences. Instructions and
notes in the Metrohm product documentation must be strictly followed.
Otherwise, Metrohm's liability is excluded.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ Table of contents
940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ III
Table of contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Instrument description ......................................................... 1
1.2 Accessories and additional information ............................. 4
1.3 Symbols and conventions .................................................... 4
2 Safety 6
2.1 Intended use ......................................................................... 6
2.2 Responsibility of the operator ............................................. 6
2.3 Requirements for operating personnel ............................... 7
2.4 Safety instructions ................................................................ 7
2.4.1 General notes on safety ........................................................... 7
2.4.2 Electrical safety ........................................................................ 7
2.4.3 Tubing and capillary connections ............................................. 8
2.4.4 Flammable solvents and chemicals ........................................... 9
2.4.5 Recycling and disposal ............................................................. 9
3 Overview of the instrument 10
3.1 Front .................................................................................... 10
3.2 Rear ...................................................................................... 12
3.3 Feed-throughs for capillaries and cables .......................... 13
4 Installation 17
4.1 Setting up the instrument .................................................. 17
4.1.1 Packaging .............................................................................. 17
4.1.2 Checks .................................................................................. 17
4.1.3 Location ................................................................................ 17
4.2 Capillary connections in the IC system ............................. 17
4.3 Removing the handle ......................................................... 20
4.4 Removing transport locking screws .................................. 21
4.5 Connecting the drainage tubing and leak sensor ............ 23
4.5.1 Installing the drainage tubing ................................................ 23
4.5.2 Connecting the leak sensor .................................................... 25
4.6 Column thermostat ............................................................ 25
4.7 Connecting the eluent bottle ............................................. 26
4.8 Connecting the eluent degasser ........................................ 30
4.9 Installing the high-pressure pump .................................... 30

Table of contents ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
IV ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580)
4.10 Installing an inline filter ..................................................... 31
4.11 Installing the pulsation absorber ...................................... 31
4.12 Injection valve ..................................................................... 32
4.13 Metrohm Suppressor Module (MSM) ............................... 34
4.13.1 Inserting the rotors ................................................................ 35
4.13.2 Connecting the Metrohm Suppressor Module (MSM) ............. 38
4.14 Peristaltic pump .................................................................. 43
4.14.1 Installing the peristaltic pump ................................................ 43
4.14.2 Mode of operation for the peristaltic pump ........................... 48
4.15 Metrohm CO2 Suppressor (MCS) ....................................... 49
4.15.1 General information on the MCS ........................................... 49
4.15.2 Connecting the MCS ............................................................. 50
4.15.3 Installing the adsorber cartridge ............................................. 52
4.16 Installing the conductivity detector .................................. 54
4.17 Connecting the sample degasser (optional) ..................... 55
4.18 Connecting the instrument to a computer ....................... 56
4.19 Connecting the instrument to the power grid ................. 57
4.20 Initial start-up ..................................................................... 58
4.21 Connecting and rinsing the guard column ....................... 60
4.22 Connecting and rinsing the separation column ............... 63
4.23 Conditioning ........................................................................ 66
5 Operation 68
6 Operation and maintenance 69
6.1 IC system ............................................................................. 69
6.1.1 Operation .............................................................................. 69
6.1.2 Care ...................................................................................... 69
6.1.3 Maintenance by Metrohm Service .......................................... 69
6.1.4 Shutting down and recommissioning ..................................... 70
6.2 Capillary connections ......................................................... 71
6.3 Servicing the door .............................................................. 71
6.4 Column thermostat – Replacing the capillaries ............... 71
6.5 Handling the eluent ............................................................ 73
6.5.1 Manufacturing eluent ............................................................ 74
6.5.2 Changing the eluent .............................................................. 74
6.6 Eluent degasser maintenance ............................................ 75
6.7 Notes on operating the high-pressure pump ................... 75
6.8 Servicing the high-pressure pump .................................... 76
6.9 Servicing the inline filter .................................................... 89

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ Table of contents
940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ V
6.10 Servicing the pulsation absorber ...................................... 92
6.11 Injection valve ..................................................................... 92
6.12 Metrohm Suppressor Module (MSM) ............................... 92
6.12.1 Notes for operating the Metrohm Suppressor Module
(MSM) ................................................................................... 92
6.12.2 Taking care of the suppressor housing ................................... 93
6.12.3 Servicing the Metrohm Suppressor Module (MSM) ................. 93
6.13 Peristaltic pump ................................................................ 101
6.13.1 Notes on operating the peristaltic pump .............................. 101
6.13.2 Servicing the peristaltic pump .............................................. 101
6.14 Maintenance on the Metrohm CO2 Suppressor (MCS) .. 103
6.14.1 Replacing the CO2 adsorption cartridge CW ......................... 103
6.15 Detector maintenance ...................................................... 104
6.16 Rinsing the sample path .................................................. 104
6.17 Separation column ........................................................... 105
6.17.1 Separating efficiency ............................................................ 105
6.17.2 Protecting the separation column ........................................ 106
6.17.3 Storing the separation column ............................................. 106
6.17.4 Regenerating the separation column .................................... 106
7 Troubleshooting 107
7.1 ........................................................................................... 107
8 Technical specifications 112
8.1 Reference conditions ........................................................ 112
8.2 Instrument ......................................................................... 112
8.3 Ambient conditions .......................................................... 112
8.4 Housing ............................................................................. 113
8.5 Weight ............................................................................... 113
8.6 Leak sensor ....................................................................... 113
8.7 Column thermostat .......................................................... 113
8.8 Eluent degasser ................................................................ 114
8.9 High-pressure pump ......................................................... 114
8.10 Injection valve ................................................................... 115
8.11 Metrohm Suppressor Module (MSM) ............................. 115
8.12 Peristaltic pump ................................................................ 115
8.13 Metrohm CO2 Suppressor (MCS) ..................................... 116
8.14 Detector ............................................................................ 116
8.15 Sample degasser ............................................................... 116

Table of contents ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
VI ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580)
8.16 Power connection ............................................................. 116
8.17 Interfaces .......................................................................... 117
Index 118

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ Table of figures
940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ VII
Table of figures
Figure 1 Front ............................................................................................... 10
Figure 2 Rear ................................................................................................ 12
Figure 3 Feed-throughs on the door .............................................................. 14
Figure 4 Openings for capillaries and cables .................................................. 15
Figure 5 Ducts for capillaries ......................................................................... 16
Figure 6 Removing the transport locking screws ............................................ 22
Figure 7 Installing the eluent bottle cap ........................................................ 26
Figure 8 Installing the tubing weighting and aspiration filter .......................... 28
Figure 9 High-pressure pump with purge valve .............................................. 30
Figure 10 Inline filter ....................................................................................... 31
Figure 11 Pulsation absorber ........................................................................... 32
Figure 12 Exchanging the sample loop ............................................................ 33
Figure 13 Metrohm Suppressor Module (MSM) – Connection capillaries .......... 38
Figure 14 Peristaltic pump ............................................................................... 49
Figure 15 Connecting the MCS ....................................................................... 51
Figure 16 Column thermostat ......................................................................... 72
Figure 17 High-pressure pump – Parts ............................................................. 76
Figure 18 High-pressure pump – Cross-section ................................................ 83
Figure 19 Tool for piston seal (6.2617.010) ..................................................... 84
Figure 20 Removing the piston cartridge from the pump head ........................ 84
Figure 21 Inserting the piston seal into the tool ............................................... 85
Figure 22 Parts of the piston cartridge ............................................................ 86
Figure 23 Inline filter – Removing the filter ...................................................... 90
Figure 24 Parts of the Metrohm Suppressor Module (MSM) ............................ 93
Figure 25 Pump tubing connection – Replacing the filter ............................... 102

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 1 Introduction
940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 1
1 Introduction
1.1 Instrument description
The 940 Professional IC Vario is a professional ion chromatograph. It is dis-
tinguished 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 modularity: It provides flexibility for use in various applications. It
can hold up to three modules for different functions in its three draw-
ers. Individual modules can be swapped or added as needed.
￭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.
This prevents 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
￭Its performance: Short retention times and sharp peaks when used
with the IC Conductivity Detector MB and a column with a diameter of
2 mm.
The 940 Professional IC Vario is operated solely using the MagIC Net soft-
ware. 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.
NOTICE
For ideal performance, Metrohm recommends using the 940 Pro-
fessional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB in combination with the IC Conduc-
tivity Detector MB and a column with a diameter of 2 mm (microbore
column).
Your regional Metrohm service representative can convert a
2-mm system to a 4-mm system.

1.1 Instrument description ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
2￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580)
The 940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB consists of the following
modules:
Housing
The sturdy housing contains the instrument's electronic components,
including their interfaces and three connections for separation columns
(two of which are built into the installed column thermostat). In addition,
the housing provides space for two detectors (conductivity detectors or
amperometric detectors) and up to three plug-ins with different functions.
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.
Column thermostat
The column thermostat regulates the temperature for the separation col-
umns and the eluent, thereby providing stable measuring conditions. The
interior of the column thermostat can be heated and cooled. There are
two column holders with chip readers in the column thermostat.
Eluent degasser
The eluent degasser removes gas bubbles and dissolved gases from the
eluent.
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 contam-
ination 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

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 1 Introduction
940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 3
defined by the size of the sample loop is injected and flushed to the sepa-
ration column with the eluent.
Metrohm Suppressor Module (MSM)
The chemical suppressor MSM consists of the suppressor drive, a rotor
and, where applicable, an adapter. The suppressor drive gives you the flex-
ibility to use different rotors according to the principle "one drive – many
rotors". Suppression rotors with different capacities and construction or a
rotor for sample preparation (SPM Rotor) are readily interchangeable with
appropriate adapters as needed. The rotors are not included in the instru-
ment's scope of delivery. The rotor required for the application and any
adapter that is required must be ordered separately.
Peristaltic pump
The peristaltic pump is used for pumping sample and auxiliary solutions. It
can rotate in both directions.
Metrohm CO2 Suppressor (MCS)
The Metrohm CO2 Suppressor (MCS) removes the CO2 from the eluent
stream. This lowers the background conductivity, improves detection sen-
sitivity and minimizes the injection peak and system peak.
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.

1.2 Accessories and additional information ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
4￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580)
1.2 Accessories and additional information
Additional information is available on the Metrohm website (https://
www.metrohm.com):
￭Product family
￭Product versions
￭Accessories
￭Documents about the product
Downloading the accessories list
NOTICE
The accessories list is a part of the product documentation. Download
the accessories list and store it as a reference.
1. Use the search function to search for the product.
2. Open the desired product version.
3. Download the accessories list.
1.3 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
second to the instrument part in the figure.
Instruction step
Perform the steps one after the other.
Method Dialog text, parameter in the software
File ▶ New Menu or menu item
[Continue] Button or key
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible life-threat-
ening hazard or risk of injury.
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible hazard due
to electrical current.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 1 Introduction
940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 5
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.
WARNING
Warning of optical radiation
CAUTION
This symbol draws attention to possible damage to
instruments or instrument parts.
NOTICE
This symbol highlights additional information and
tips.

2.1 Intended use ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
6￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580)
2 Safety
2.1 Intended use
The 940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB is used for the determina-
tion of anions, cations or polar substances with sequential suppression
using ion chromatography.
Sequential suppression consists of:
￭Chemical suppression with a Metrohm Suppressor Module (MSM) and
subsequent
￭CO2 suppression with the Metrohm CO2 Suppressor (MCS).
Background conductivity is reduced to a minimum with sequential sup-
pression.
It can also be used as needed for the determination of cations, polar sub-
stances or anions without chemical suppression.
The 940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB is suitable for the use of col-
umns with a diameter of 2 mm.
This instrument is suitable for processing chemicals and flammable sam-
ples. Usage of the 940 Professional IC Vario therefore 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.
2.2 Responsibility of the operator
The operator must ensure that basic regulations on occupational safety
and accident prevention in chemical laboratories are observed. The opera-
tor has the following responsibilities:
￭Instruct personnel in the safe handling of the product.
￭Train personnel in the use of the product according to the user docu-
mentation (e.g. install, operate, clean, eliminate faults).
￭Train staff on basic occupational safety and accident prevention regula-
tions.
￭Provide personal protective equipment (e.g. protective glasses, gloves).
￭Provide suitable tools and equipment to carry out the work safely.
The product may be used only when it is in perfect condition. The follow-
ing measures are required to ensure the safe operation of the product:
￭Check the condition of the product before use.
￭Remedy defects and malfunctions immediately.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 2 Safety
940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 7
￭Maintain and clean the product regularly.
2.3 Requirements for operating personnel
Only qualified personnel may operate the product. Qualified personnel are
persons who meet the following requirements:
￭Basic regulations on occupational safety and accident prevention for
chemical laboratories are known and complied with.
￭Knowledge of handling hazardous chemicals is present. Personnel have
the ability to recognize and avoid potential dangers.
￭Knowledge regarding the application of fire prevention measures for
laboratories is available.
￭Safety-relevant information is communicated and understood. The per-
sonnel can operate the product safely.
￭The user documentation has been read and understood. The personnel
operate the product according to the instructions in the user documen-
tation.
2.4 Safety instructions
2.4.1 General notes on safety
WARNING
Operate this instrument only according to the information contained in
this documentation.
This instrument 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.
2.4.2 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.

2.4 Safety instructions ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
8￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580)
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.
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.
2.4.3 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.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 2 Safety
940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 9
2.4.4 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.
2.4.5 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.

3.1 Front ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
10 ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/PP/MB (2.940.1580)
3 Overview of the instrument
3.1 Front
1
2
3
6
8
10
11
12
13
14
7
9
4
5
15
Figure 1 Front
1Bottle holder
Offers space for the eluent bottle(s) and
additional accessories.
2Detector chamber
Offers space for two embedded detectors
and additional accessories.
3Column holder
For a third separation column outside the
column thermostat.
4Metrohm CO2 Suppressor (MCS)