CHEMICAL SPECIATION OF CHLORINE PRESENT IN PARTICULATE COMBUSTION PRODUCTS OF ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS BY EMPLOYING HIGH-RESOLUTION PIXE ANALYSIS

Abstract

The chemical speciation of chlorine ( Cl ) in particulate matter samples produced by the laboratory burning of organic Cl compounds was tested by employing the high-resolution measurement of K β X-rays based on a wavelength-dispersive proton-induced X-ray emission (WD-PIXE) technique. Targets for proton irradiation were prepared by depositing particulate burning products on aluminum foils placed on a simple barrel burner. Standard inorganic ( NaCl , MgCl 2, CaCl 2, NH 4 Cl , and AlCl 3) and organic (polyvinyl chloride and polyvinylidene chloride) Cl compounds were prepared for spectral comparison. We found that the Cl - K β1 peak energies for these organic compounds are higher by approximately 1 eV than those for inorganic compounds. For burning products of these organic compounds, the peak energies were found to be located between those for organic and inorganic compounds. This result indicates that the organic Cl compounds were decomposed to smaller molecules during the burning process but these fragments still existed in the organic form.