Patent ID: 8167987

Claim:
A system for cooling a chromatographic column, comprising: a chromatographic column for communicating fluid to a detector, said column having an inlet end through which fluid flows into said column and an outlet end through which fluid flows to the detector; a chromatographic oven in which said column is at least partially disposed that decreases the temperature of said column, thereby causing fluid in said column to contract, said chromatographic oven having programmable pneumatic controls; a sampling device for supplying the fluid to said column; a transfer line connecting the inlet end of the chromatographic column to the sampling device, through which the fluid is supplied to said column; and a pressure-controlling device comprising: an interface device that interfaces the transfer line with the chromatographic column, and electronic programmable pneumatic controls that controls the interface device, the electronic programmable pneumatic controls being able to control the interface device so that the interface device controls the pressure of fluid entering the column, wherein the pressure-controlling device is located at the inlet end of said column and wherein the pressure-controlling device increases the pressure at which the fluid flows into said column as the temperature of the column decreases such that the rate at which the fluid in the column contracts as the temperature of said column decreases does not exceed the flow rate of the fluid flowing into said column.