All J.U.M. Engineering heated total hydrocarbon analyzers our non-methane hydrocarbon analyzer and our new non-methane/non-ethane hydrocarbon analyzer use the Flame Ionization Detector (FID) principle to determine the presence of total hydrocarbon concentrations in a gaseous sample.

Burning hydrocarbon-free hydrogen in hydrocarbon-free air produces a negligible number of ions.

Once a sample containing hydrocarbons is introduced into this flame a very complex ionization process is started. This process creates a large number ions. A high polarizing voltage is applied between the two electrodes around the burner nozzle and produces an electrostatic field. Now negative ions migrate to the collector electrode and positive ions migrate to the high voltage electrode. The so generated ionization current between the two electrodes is directly proportional to the hydrocarbon concentration in the sample that is burned by the flame. This signal is measured and amplified by our electrometer-unit.

A sample pressure regulator provides a controlled back pressure at the sample capillary which gives admittance of a constant sample flow rate to the burner. This technique without the conventional back pressure regulator is used by J.U.M. Engineering for over 26 years to provide the highest possible sample flow rate stability and lowest maintenance. Our compactly designed flow control module for controlling the fuel and air flow rates via needle valves use high precision pressure regulators. The needle valves are factory adjusted and sealed to ensure the optimization of the burner.