Humic and fluvic acids and organic colloidal materials in the environment
- Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
- Univ. of Georgia, Aiken, SC (United States)
Humic substances are ubiquitous in the environment, occurring in all soils, waters, and sediments of the ecosphere. Humic substances arise from the decomposition of plant and animal tissues yet are more stable than their precursors. Their size, molecular weight, elemental composition, structure, and the number and position of functional groups vary, depending on the origin and age of the material. Humic and fulvic substances have been studied extensively for more than 200 years; however, much remains unknown regarding their structure and properties. Humic substances are those organic compounds found in the environment that cannot be classified as any other chemical class of compounds. They are traditionally defined according to their solubilities. Fulvic acids are those organic materials that are soluble in water at all pH values. Humic acids are those materials that are insoluble at acidic pH values (pH < 2) but are soluble at higher pH values. Humin is the fraction of natural organic materials that is insoluble in water at all pH values. These definitions reflect the traditional methods for separating the different fractions from the original mixture. The humic content of soils varies from 0 to almost 10%. In surface waters, the humic content, expressed as dissolved organic carbon (DOC), varies from 0.1 to 50 ppm in dark-water swamps. In ocean waters, the DOC varies from 0.5 to 1.2 ppm at the surface, and the DOC in samples from deep groundwaters varies from 0.1 to 10 ppm. In addition, about 10% of the DOC in surface waters is found in suspended matter, either as organic or organically coated inorganic particulates. Humic materials function as surfactants, with the ability to bind both hydrophobic and hydrophyllic materials, making numic and fluvic materials effective agents in transporting both organic and inorganic contaminants in the environment.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 274308
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/ER/CP-89942; CONF-9608110-1; ON: DE96012697; TRN: 96:004712
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 210. American Chemical Society national meeting, Chicago, IL (United States), 20-24 Aug 1996; Other Information: PBD: Apr 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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