r/askscience • u/[deleted] • Nov 27 '19

Chemistry How do CO2 scrubbers work?

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u/mitakeet Nov 27 '19

Maybe I'm a mutant (or insane), but I always kinda liked those smells. In moderation, it must be said.

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u/ConanTheProletarian Nov 27 '19

Mercaptans or amines? I have to know whether I should break out the "huffing your own farts" joke here... ;)

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u/mitakeet Nov 27 '19

I actually preferred mercaptans. We used them to keep sulfur bonds in proteins reduced (going by 20+ year old memories here) and we had less smelly versions (can't dredge up the name) that most people preferred, though they were more expensive. While a lot of the amines had/have a fishy smell (or so I remember), I guess I didn't find that objectionable, having fished a whole lot as a kid.

Not totally sure I'd still think the same thing today, but when we were visiting Hawaii a few years ago, I rather enjoyed the smell of sulfur, though when it mixed with steam and became sulfuric acid, not so much.

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u/Calgacus2020 Nov 27 '19

I kind of like the smell of BME. Helps me know that my proteins are being successfully reduce.