A Quantitative Method to Measure and Speciate Amines in Ambient Aerosol Samples

Ambient reactive nitrogen is a mix of nitrogen-containing organic and inorganic compounds. These various compounds are found in both aerosol- and gas-phases with oxidized and reduced forms of nitrogen. Aerosol-phase reduced nitrogen is predominately thought to include ammonium and amines. In ambient...

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Main Authors: Amy P. Sullivan, Katherine B. Benedict, Christian M. Carrico, Manvendra K. Dubey, Bret A. Schichtel, Jeffrey L. Collett
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
Series:Atmosphere
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/8/808
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spelling doaj-d374b40ac07f4548b6acd4a257fae3432020-11-25T03:46:10ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332020-07-011180880810.3390/atmos11080808A Quantitative Method to Measure and Speciate Amines in Ambient Aerosol SamplesAmy P. Sullivan0Katherine B. Benedict1Christian M. Carrico2Manvendra K. Dubey3Bret A. Schichtel4Jeffrey L. Collett5Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, 1371 Atmospheric Science, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USADepartment of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, 1371 Atmospheric Science, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USADepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801, USAEarth and Environmental Science, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USANational Park Service/CIRA, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USADepartment of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, 1371 Atmospheric Science, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USAAmbient reactive nitrogen is a mix of nitrogen-containing organic and inorganic compounds. These various compounds are found in both aerosol- and gas-phases with oxidized and reduced forms of nitrogen. Aerosol-phase reduced nitrogen is predominately thought to include ammonium and amines. In ambient samples, the ammonium concentration is routinely determined, but the contribution of amines is not. We developed a method to discretely measure amines from ambient aerosol samples. It employs ion chromatography using a Thermo Scientific IonPac Dionex CS-19 column with conductivity detection and a three-step separation using a methanesulfonic acid eluent. This method allows for the quantification of 18 different amines, including the series of methylamines and the different isomers of butylamine. Almost all amines quantifiable by this technique were measured regularly when applying this method to ambient filter samples collected in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and Greeley, CO. The sum of the amines was ~0.02 µg m<sup>−3</sup> at both sites. This increased to 0.04 and 0.09 µg m<sup>−3</sup> at RMNP and Greeley, respectively, at the same time they were impacted by smoke. Analysis of separate, fresh biomass burning source samples, however, suggests that smoke is likely a minor emission source of amines in most environments.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/8/808aminesion chromatographyambient aerosolsPM2.5reduced nitrogen
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Amy P. Sullivan
Katherine B. Benedict
Christian M. Carrico
Manvendra K. Dubey
Bret A. Schichtel
Jeffrey L. Collett
spellingShingle Amy P. Sullivan
Katherine B. Benedict
Christian M. Carrico
Manvendra K. Dubey
Bret A. Schichtel
Jeffrey L. Collett
A Quantitative Method to Measure and Speciate Amines in Ambient Aerosol Samples
Atmosphere
amines
ion chromatography
ambient aerosols
PM2.5
reduced nitrogen
author_facet Amy P. Sullivan
Katherine B. Benedict
Christian M. Carrico
Manvendra K. Dubey
Bret A. Schichtel
Jeffrey L. Collett
author_sort Amy P. Sullivan
title A Quantitative Method to Measure and Speciate Amines in Ambient Aerosol Samples
title_short A Quantitative Method to Measure and Speciate Amines in Ambient Aerosol Samples
title_full A Quantitative Method to Measure and Speciate Amines in Ambient Aerosol Samples
title_fullStr A Quantitative Method to Measure and Speciate Amines in Ambient Aerosol Samples
title_full_unstemmed A Quantitative Method to Measure and Speciate Amines in Ambient Aerosol Samples
title_sort quantitative method to measure and speciate amines in ambient aerosol samples
publisher MDPI AG
series Atmosphere
issn 2073-4433
publishDate 2020-07-01
description Ambient reactive nitrogen is a mix of nitrogen-containing organic and inorganic compounds. These various compounds are found in both aerosol- and gas-phases with oxidized and reduced forms of nitrogen. Aerosol-phase reduced nitrogen is predominately thought to include ammonium and amines. In ambient samples, the ammonium concentration is routinely determined, but the contribution of amines is not. We developed a method to discretely measure amines from ambient aerosol samples. It employs ion chromatography using a Thermo Scientific IonPac Dionex CS-19 column with conductivity detection and a three-step separation using a methanesulfonic acid eluent. This method allows for the quantification of 18 different amines, including the series of methylamines and the different isomers of butylamine. Almost all amines quantifiable by this technique were measured regularly when applying this method to ambient filter samples collected in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and Greeley, CO. The sum of the amines was ~0.02 µg m<sup>−3</sup> at both sites. This increased to 0.04 and 0.09 µg m<sup>−3</sup> at RMNP and Greeley, respectively, at the same time they were impacted by smoke. Analysis of separate, fresh biomass burning source samples, however, suggests that smoke is likely a minor emission source of amines in most environments.
topic amines
ion chromatography
ambient aerosols
PM2.5
reduced nitrogen
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/8/808
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