Amines in the atmosphere derive from sources, such as sewage treatment and livestock feeding. The abundance of these amines in the atmosphere make it important to determine how amines react to form particles, specifically amine salts. Experiments were conducted in a smog chamber to determine the chemical mechanism of salt formation. A Particle Into Liquid Sampler-Ion Chromatograph (PILS-IC) was used to identify and measure the concentrations of salts formed during the experiments. Reactions of the amines with oxidants, such as N2O5 and the hydroxyl radical, under varying levels of humidity showed that diethylamine produced the highest concentration of amine salts, followed by butylamine and trimethylamine. Our findings also indicate that oxidization of the carbon side chain of the amine seemed to occur more readily in the reactions involving the hydroxyl radical instead of salt formation when N2O5 was used. Humidity levels between 0% - 40% for the butylamine experiments produced the most salt in the dry experiment and least salt in the wet experiment.

Formation of Alkylaminium salts in particulate matter

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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