Hi all.

I am facing trouble with my alumina (neutral activated Grade II), with which I used to separate marine fuel components on a chromatography column packed with alumina gel made of alumina and hexane. Until last week, this experiment ran without any trouble. Since last Friday, alumina behaves as an electrostatic powder, sticking to glass, avoiding my fingers when I touch the column, and forming sort of "iron powder magnetic spikes" on the surface I try to flatten. Moreover, elution pattern is now completely random, without the nice and proper migration front it used to have.

What the Mictlan happend to my Alumina ??? Thanks for your help.

PS : I apology for my poor chemical vocabulary, I am a microbiologist. Nobody's perfect.