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ECN publication
Title:
Measurement of humic and fulvic acid concentrations and dissolution properties by a rapid batch procedure
 
Author(s):
 
Published by: Publication date:
ECN Biomass, Coal and Environmental Research 15-9-2010
 
ECN report number: Document type:
ECN-W--07-053 Article (scientific)
 
Number of pages:
8  

Published in: Environ. Sci. Technol. (), , 2007, Vol.41, p.6755-6761.

Abstract:
Although humic substances (HS) strongly facilitate the transport of metals and hydrophobic organic contaminants in environmental systems, their measurement is hampered by the time-consuming nature of currently available methods for their isolation and purification. We present and apply a new rapid batch method to measure humic (HA) and fulvic (FA) acid concentrations and dissolution properties in both solid and aqueous samples. The method is compared with the conventional procedures and is shown to substantially facilitate HS concentration measurements, particularly for applications such as geochemical modeling where HS purification is not required. The new method can be performed within 1.5-4 h per sample and multiple samples can be processed simultaneously, while the conventional procedures typically require approximately 40 h for a single sample. In addition, specific dissolution properties of HS are identified and are consistent with recent views on the molecular structure of HS that emphasize molecular interactions of smaller entities over distinct macromolecular components. Because the principles of the new method are essentially the same as those of generally accepted conventional procedures, the identified HA and FA properties are of general importance for the interpretation of the environmental occurrence and behavior of HS.


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