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Learn Innovations in Chemical Analysis with LECO
Gulf Coast Conference 2025
October 13-16
Booth #1207
Moody Gardens Convention Center | Galveston, Texas
The annual Gulf Coast Conference (GCC) in Galveston, Texas focuses on advancements in chemical analysis technologies and methodologies. It’s a one-stop source for industry professionals in the petrochemical, refining, and environmental fields.
Don’t miss this chance for a hands-on experience with LECO products and specialists at this year’s meeting. Our mobile laboratory will be on-site at booth #1207!
World-Class Instrumentation on Wheels
Our unique mobile laboratories offer you the opportunity to see our state-of-the-art instrumentation up-close, while discussing everything from methods to maintenance with knowledgeable LECO representatives. Conveniently traveling to various regions of the country throughout the year, these one-of-a-kind portable laboratories feature everything from elemental analysis and mass spectrometry to metallography and materials characterization products.
Our mobile lab will be at Booth #1207 for you to explore.
Featured Presentations
Petr Vozka
California State University, Los Angeles
Christina Kelly
LECO Corporation
KEYNOTE: Plastic Waste Measurements: How Can GC×GC Decode Complexity in Pyrolysis Oils and Microplastics
October 14, 10:00 AM-11:00 AM | Exhibit Hall A4
Plastic waste manifests as environmental microplastics (MPs) and, when thermochemically processed, as waste plastic pyrolysis oils (WPPOs), both demanding rigorous measurements. Analytical measurements underpin efforts toward the conversion of plastic waste into usable products and toward understanding the organic compounds associated with MPs. Current economics are challenging; however, analytics can help reduce risk and cost. This talk surveys work on the detailed analysis of WPPOs and MPs. A forward-looking perspective will outline research and implementation needs over the next five years to support broader use of WPPOs, alongside the role of education and public communication in building literacy and trust. The talk highlights opportunities for researchers and industry to reduce uncertainty, align expectations, and support responsible deployment.
Quantifying Olefins in Waste Plastic Pyrolysis Oils and Distillate Fractions via GC×GC–FID with Targeted Derivatization
October 14, 1:40 PM-2:10 PM | Floral Hall A2
Waste plastic pyrolysis oils (WPPOs) are complex, variable mixtures. Unsaturation governs stability, upgrading severity, and the quality of fuel-range cuts. Reliable, transferable olefin quantification across whole oils and distillates is therefore essential. Here is presented an advancement over our prior gasoline-range method, extending precise quantification to jet-range fractions and progressing toward diesel-range application. The approach couples comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC×GC–FID) with targeted derivatization to reposition olefins in the GC×GC space, enabling robust indirect quantification with carbon-number- and class-resolved outputs amid paraffins, naphthenes, and aromatics.
Nontarget Analysis of WPPO by GCxGC-HRTOFMS
October 14, 1:10 PM-1:30 PM | Floral Hall A2
Waste plastic pyrolysis oils (WPPO) are of growing interest as a source of more environmentally friendly alternative feedstock for producing chemicals and fuels. However, as WPPO are often produced from diverse sources with varying degrees of purity and cleanliness, more comprehensive analysis becomes necessary as compounds that are not typically found in traditional petrochemical sources can be present in these oils. Targeted screening is not enough to fully safeguard processes from potentially undesirable contaminants, which can reduce efficiency of reactions and foul production lines. To fully understand the chemical composition of such complex mixtures, nontargeted analysis is essential. This presentation focuses on analysis of WPPO using an unparalleled nontarget discovery tool: comprehensive two-dimensional gas-chromatography coupled to high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-HRTOFMS) capable of multi-mode ionization with electron ionization (EI), positive chemical ionization (PCI), and electron-capture negative chemical ionization (ECNI). This multidimensional analysis provides not only the enhanced chromatographic resolution of GCxGC, which separates individual oil components chromatographically in an easy-to-comprehend layout of fairways of similar chemical structures, but also the powerful analyte identification abilities of complementary ionization modes that can provide both detailed structural information and the high mass-accuracy molecular formulae for individual species.
A New Software Tool for Standardization of GCxGC Group-Type Templates
Poster – October 15, 12:30 PM | South Lobby
As routine methods using comprehensive multidimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC) gain acceptance, creative solutions to traditional standardization challenges have emerged. One such solution is the LECO ChromaTOF feature “Classification Correction,” which allows for the simple adjustment of group-type templates between samples collected with different acquisition parameters. Designed to compensate for retention time shifts due to routine GC maintenance such as column trimming or replacement, “Classification Correction” enables the creation of shareable methods from system-to-system and provides valuable time-savings, easing the adoption of newer, more efficient routine GCxGC analyses. This poster shows the utility of the ChromaTOF software package for not only the bulk group-type analysis of alternative aviation fuels, but also the power of detailed hydrocarbon analysis made possible when GCxGC is coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS).