Efficient chiller for a supercritical fluid chromatography pump

A pump head chiller assembly for chilling a pump having a pump head, the pump head chiller, comprising:

• a Peltier element;
• a chiller plate arranged on a cool side of the Peltier cooling element and configured to pre-chill a flowstream prior to entering the pump;
• and
• a first heat exchanger arranged on a warm side of the Peltier cooling element and configured to remove heat from the Peltier cooling element using a circulating fluid,
• wherein the Peltier element, the chiller plate, the cooler block and the pump head are contained in a compartment separated from a second heat exchanger configured to cool the circulating fluid.

A system for chilling a pumping system, the system comprising:

• a Peltier element;
• a chiller plate in thermal contact with serpentine tubing carrying a flowstream entering a pump via a pump head, the chiller plate being arranged on a cool side of the Peltier cooling element and configured to pre-chill the flowstream from a gaseous state to a liquid state prior to the flowstream entering the pump;
• a first heat exchanger arranged on a warm side of the Peltier cooling element and configured to remove heat from the Peltier cooling element using a circulating fluid;
• and
• a second heat exchanger arranged outside a compartment containing the Peltier element, the chiller plate and the first heat exchanger, and configured to cool the circulating fluid.