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Formation of Methyl Nitrite in Soil Treated with Nitrous Acid¹

ABSTRACT

The formation of methyl nitrite was detected when two clay soils were treated with nitrous acid (260 ± 20 mg N kg^–1 soil) in the dark in a closed chamber. The presence of the gas was positively identified by mass spectrometry. There was a consistent trend with time in the concentrations of methyl nitrite in the atmospheres above the soils. A rapid buildup occurred following addition of nitrous acid, but this was soon followed by a gradual decline in concentration. The peak concentrations occurred approximately 15 min or 30 min after nitrous acid addition, and 5-h concentrations were < 50% of peak concentrations. Methyl nitrite was formed under mildly to moderately acid conditions (pH 6.3 and 4.8) at –33 kPa soil water potential. The results indicate that methyl nitrite may form under conditions encountered in the field, and that soil can be a sink as well as a source of methyl nitrite.

¹ Contribution from the School of Agriculture & Forestry, Univ. of Melbourne, Parkville 3052, Australia.

² Graduate Student, Senior Lecturers, and Visiting Research Fellow, respectively. The work was partly undertaken while D.W. Nelson was on leave from the Dep. of Agronomy, Purdue Univ., W. Lafayette, IN. D.W. Nelson is now Professor and Head, Dep. of Agronomy, Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln 68583.

Received for publication December 12, 1983. Accepted for publication December 15, 1984.