AAAR 36th Annual Conference October 16 - October 20, 2017 Raleigh Convention Center Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Abstract View
Reduced Nitrogen Organic Species Partitioning to Aerosol in the Indoor Environment
PETER DECARLO, Anita Avery, Michael Waring, Drexel University
Abstract Number: 536 Working Group: Aerosol Chemistry
Abstract Submicron aerosol in the indoor environment is often directly related to the penetration of outdoor aerosols in to the indoor space. New particle and SVOC sources in the indoor environment can modify the overall chemical composition of the outdoor aerosol. A series of studies using a High-Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometer examined the differences in the indoor and outdoor aerosol composition and identified a reduced nitrogen component unique to the indoor aerosol. Positive Matrix Factorization was used to characterize the mass spectral signature and mass loading of the reduced nitrogen component. This component had significant (~20-30%) mass contribution to the total indoor submicron aerosol loading, and was the largest single component in the indoor aerosol. Partitioning of this species is to the aqueous phase of the aerosol through an acid base reaction mechanism with reactive uptake. Uptake to the organic phase is not supported by the measurement data. Subsequent tests in the laboratory indicate that the likely source of the reduced nitrogen species is likely aged residual cigarette smoke.