Objective To propose an ion chromatography method for determining amine compounds in workplace air, achieving the separation of methylamine, dimethylamine, ethanolamine, and ethylamine in air samples without interference from other chemical substances, thereby providing a scientific basis for their measurement in workplace environments.

Methods Air from a specific workplace was collected using absorption tubes equipped with porous glass plates containing 0.01 mol/L sulfuric acid solution. The sample was filtered by membrane and then measured directly by ion chromatograph, with the SH-CC-3L cation analytical column and its guard column and the gradient elution method.

Results It noted that good chromatographic peak separation and effective separation of target compounds from common cations. The calibration curves for methylamine, dimethylamine, ethanolamine, and ethylamine exhibited good linearity. The detection limits were 0.005, 0.007, 0.015, and 0.006 mg/L, respectively; the quantitation limits were 0.017, 0.023, 0.050, and 0.020 mg/L, respectively. The minimum quantifiable mass concentrations were 0.022, 0.031, 0.067, and 0.027 mg/m³ (calculated by sampling 7.5 L). The spiked recovery rates were 97.2% to 100.4%, 98.6% to 100.2%, 95.8% to 104.4%, and 98.9% to 99.3%, respectively; the precisions (relative standard deviations) were 0.2% to 4.2%, 0.4% to 4.0%, 0.3% to 5.0%, and 0.4% to 2.6%, respectively.

Conclusions This method is simple, sensitive, and accurate. It is suitable for the determination of methylamine, dimethylamine, ethanolamine, and ethylamine in workplace air.