Thermo Scientific Dionex Easion User manual

Dionex Easion Ion Chromatography
System Operator’s Manual
Document No. 155028
Revision 01
August 2020

© 2020 by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. All rights reserved.
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Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. provides this document to its customers with a product
purchase to use in the product operation. This document is copyright protected and
any reproduction of the whole or any part of this document is strictly prohibited,
except with the written authorization of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
The contents of this document are subject to change without notice. All technical
information in this document is for reference purposes only. System configurations
and specifications in this document supersede all previous information received by
the purchaser.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. makes no representations that this document is
complete, accurate or error-free and assumes no responsibility and will not be
liable for any errors, omissions, damage or loss that might result from any use of
this document, even if the information in the document is followed properly.
This document is not part of any sales contract between Thermo Fisher Scientific
Inc. and a purchaser. This document shall in no way govern or modify any Terms and
Conditions of Sale, which Terms and Conditions of Sale shall govern all conflicting
information between the two documents.
Revision history: Revision 01 released August 2020; new product support
Software version: Chromeleon 7.2.10 MUa and later
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Doc. 155028-01 08/20 i
1 • Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Overview of the Dionex Easion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 User Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.1 About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.2 Related Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Safety Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.1 Safety Messages and Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.2 Safety Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 Regulatory Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4.1 Notice on Lifting and Handling of Thermo Scientific
Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4.2 Notice on the Proper Use of Thermo Scientific Instruments . . . 7
1.4.3 Notice on the Susceptibility to Electromagnetic Transmission . 7
1.4.4 WEEE Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2•Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.1 Operating Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.1.1 Front Door and Top Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.1.2 Component Mounting Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.3 Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2 Fluid Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Contents

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2.3 System Component Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
2.3.1 Pump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
2.3.2 Pressure Transducer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
2.3.3 Injection Valve with Sample Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
2.3.4 Dionex CRS 500 Suppressor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
2.3.5 Displacement Chemical Regeneration (DCR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
2.3.6 Conductivity Cell and Dionex DS5 Detection Stabilizer . . . . .22
2.4 Chromeleon Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
2.4.1 The Chromeleon ePanel Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
2.4.2 Software Control Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
2.4.3 System Wellness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
3 • Operation and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
3.1 Operation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
3.2 Turning On the Dionex Easion Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
3.3 Connecting to Chromeleon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
3.4 Preparing the Eluent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
3.5 Preparing the Regenerant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
3.6 Priming the Pump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
3.7 Equilibrating the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
3.8 Verifying Operational Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
3.9 Configuring Standby Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
3.10 Preparing Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
3.10.1 Collecting and Storing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Contents
Doc. 155028-01 08/20 iii
3.10.2 Pretreating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.10.3 Diluting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.11 Processing Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.11.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.11.2 Manual Sample Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.11.3 Automated (Batch) Sample Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.11.4 Loading and Injecting Samples with an Autosampler . . . . . . . 41
3.11.5 Loading and Injecting Samples with a Syringe . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.11.6 Example Chromeleon Commands for Loading and
Injecting Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.12 Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4 • Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.1 Alarms and Error Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.2 Liquid Leaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.3 Pump Difficult to Prime or Loses Prime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.4 Pump Does Not Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.5 No Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.6 Erratic Flow/Pressure Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.7 Excessive System Backpressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.8 Peak “Ghosting” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.9 Nonreproducible Peak Height or Retention Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.10 Abnormal Retention Time or Selectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.11 No Detector Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

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4.12 High Detector Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
4.13 Baseline Noise or Drift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
5•Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
5.1 Diagnostics and Calibrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
5.1.1 Wellness Panel Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
5.1.2 Calibrating the Pressure Transducer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
5.1.3 Calibrating the Flow Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
5.2 Replacing Tubing and Fittings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
5.3 Isolating a Restriction in the Liquid Plumbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
5.4 Cleaning Eluent Bottles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
5.5 Changing the Sample Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
5.6 Replacing Pump Check Valves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
5.7 Cleaning Pump Check Valves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
5.8 Replacing a Pump Piston Seal and Backup Seal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
5.9 Replacing a Pump Piston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
5.10 Replacing the Waste Valve Seal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
5.11 Rebuilding the Injection Valve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
5.12 Replacing the Conductivity Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
5.13 Replacing the Suppressor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
5.14 Changing the Main Power Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
A • Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
A.1 Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

Contents
Doc. 155028-01 08/20 v
A.2 Physical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
A.3 Environmental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
A.4 Front and Rear Panel LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
A.5 Pump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
A.6 Injection Valve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
A.7 Suppressors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
A.8 Conductivity Detector and Flow Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
A.9 Autosampler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
A.10 System Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
B • Reordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
C • TTL and Relay Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
C.1 Connecting a TTL or Relay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
C.2 Selecting TTL Input Control Modes and Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
C.3 Configuring Relay Output 1 or 2 to Respond to the Pump Flow . . . . . 97
C.4 Controlling TTL and Relay Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
D•FAQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
D.1 How do I connect to the Dionex AS-DV? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
D.2 Why are the retention times moving? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
D.3 How do I adjust retention times? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
D.4 When should I remake standards? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
D.5 When should I remake eluents? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Dionex Easion Operator’s Manual
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D.6 How do I shut off the system? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
D.7 How do I store columns? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
D.8 How do I know when a column is dirty? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
D.9 How do I clean a column? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
D.10 Why is the conductivity high? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
E • Introduction to Ion Chromatography (IC) . . . . .103
F • Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105

Doc. 155028-01 08/20 1
1 • Introduction
1.1 Overview of the Dionex Easion
The Thermo Scientific™Dionex™Easion™Ion Chromatography System (Dionex
Easion) performs isocratic ion analyses using suppressed conductivity detection.
The Dionex Easion is an integrated ion chromatography system consisting of a
pump, an injection valve, and a conductivity cell. Other system components
(guard column, separator column, and suppressor) are ordered separately.
The Dionex Easion is controlled with a PC (personal computer) running
Windows®10 or Windows®8.1 operating system and the Thermo Scientific™
Dionex™Chromeleon™7 Chromatography Data System (version 7.2.10 MUa and
later). Chromeleon provides complete instrument control, data acquisition, and
data management.
For communication between the Dionex Easion and the PC on which Chromeleon
is installed, the Dionex Easion must be connected to a USB (Universal Serial Bus)
port on either the PC or an external USB hub. For more information, refer to
Thermo Scientific Dionex Easion Ion Chromatography System Installation
Instructions (Document No. 155032).
NOTE For an introduction to basic ion chromatography
concepts, see Appendix E.

Dionex Easion Operator’s Manual
2Doc. 155028-01 08/20
1.2 User Documentation
1.2.1 About This Manual
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Chapter 1
Introduction Introduces the Dionex Easion; explains the
conventions used in this manual, including safety-
related information.
Chapter 2
Description Describes Dionex Easion operating features, the
chromatographic flow path, and the software
required for Dionex Easion control.
Chapter 3
Operation and
Maintenance
Provides operating instructions for the Dionex
Easion and describes routine preventive
maintenance procedures.
Chapter 4
Troubleshooting Lists problems and presents step-by-step
procedures for how to isolate and eliminate the
cause of each problem.
Chapter 5
Service Provides step-by-step instructions for routine
service and parts replacement procedures that the
user can perform.
Appendix A
Specifications Provides specifications and installation site
requirements for the Dionex Easion.
Appendix B
Reordering
Information
Lists spare parts for the Dionex Easion.