4. Rare gas purification and separation processes

Based on the chemisorption and physisorption processes described above, the procedures described in this section are designed to purify and separate noble gases after extraction from a sample, so that they can be analyzed independently of each other by mass spectrometry. The three protocols below are just a few examples, and can be modified according to the configuration of the gas purification line, the extraction technique used, the quantities of water and hydrocarbons, the nature of the samples (rock, mineral, gas, liquid), and so on. Following the purification protocol, it is advisable to measure the pressure of the gas to be analyzed before introducing it into the analyzer and to adjust it, by dilution, to that of the standard gas, so as to obtain comparable signals at the analyzer.