Comparison of the performance of forward fill/flush and reverse fill/flush flow modulation in comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography

•FFF and RFF have nearly the same performance for mixtures composed of solutes at low and equal concentrations.•For samples with a wide dynamic concentration range, RFF is to be preferred.•The detectability in FFF and RFF modulation is nearly equal.

The performances of forward flow fill and flush (FFF) and of reverse flow fill and flush (RFF) in flow modulated comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC) using the same volume of the sampling channel have been studied and compared.Sample models include a reference mixture of hydrocarbons at low concentration, a petroleum reformate product and the essential oil of Rosa damascena Miller. The latter samples contain solutes in different concentrations but some up to 30% allowing to study overloading phenomena in detail. For solutes injected at low quantity, the performance of FFF and RFF is similar. For solutes present in a sample at high quantity, RFF guarantees less broadening and spreading resulting in better quantitation.