Analysis of liquid streams using tubing with protuberances on its inner wall

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In accordance with the invention, tubing (or a fiber) with protuberances, with or without ion exchange sites, (herein "the present tubing") is used to disrupt laminar flow in a liquid chemical analysis.
The present tubing may be used in place of the packed fibers of the prior art for minimizing band spreading during ion chromatography.
Specifically, the present tubing includes protuberances extending inwardly from the inside wall of the tubing and spaced circumferentially and axially from each other.
The protuberances disrupt laminar flow and produce substantial turbulence during passage of the sample stream through the tube.
When the present tubing is used as a suppressor for ion chromatography, the wall of the tubing includes ion exchange sites and functions in a similar manner to the fiber suppression described above with the exception that the protuberances can provide a number of advantages.
By providing ion exchange sites on the protuberances as well as the wall of the present tubing, the protuberances extend into the center of the flowing stream to increase the surface area available for ion exchange.
The present tubing is useful for creating turbulence in other liquid flow systems for chemical analysis, especially where band spreading is a problem.
Thus, for example, the tubing may be used to interconnect portions of an apparatus to minimize band spreading.