Abstract
Ion chromatography (IC) is widely used to quantify sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, sodium, chloride, and potassium from PM $$_{2.5}$$ water extracts. IC hardware and software have progressed to allow a broader range of water-soluble compounds to be determined for the existing anion and cation programs and on the same solutions using analytical column, eluent, and detector modifications. Alkylamine, organic acid, and carbohydrate quantification by IC expands the number of source markers, especially for different types of biomass burning and secondary organic aerosols. Although modern systems are highly automated, internal quality control (QC) and external quality assurance (QA) programs are essential. QC includes detailed standard operating procedures, calibration over the range of expected concentrations, performance tests with independent standards, inspection of filters and chromatograms, and anion/cation balances. QA consists of independent system and performance audits, analysis of externally prepared performance samples, and interlaboratory comparisons. The additional water-soluble species provide compounds for speciated emission inventories, source markers to refine aerosol source apportionment, and increased understanding of global carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen cycles.
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