|
|
| Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues >
2001
>
December
> |
|
Chemistry for Everyone
|
|
Products of Chemistry
|
|
Humic Acids: Marvelous Products of Soil Chemistry
|
Geoffrey Davies and Elham A. Ghabbour
Barnett Institute and the Chemistry Department, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115
Cornelius Steelink
Chemistry Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
|
|
December 2001
Vol. 78 No. 12
p. 1609
|
|
|
|
| Abstract |
|
Humic acids (HAs) are remarkable brown to black products of soil chemistry that are essential for healthy and productive soils. Current HA models help to explain HAs' origins and behavior as flexible, aliphatic-aromatic, highly functionalized molecules that can act as photosensitizers, retain water, bind to clays, act as plant growth stimulants, and scavenge toxic pollutants. No synthetic material can match HAs' physical and chemical versatility. Removal of HAs from water avoids disinfection by-products such as chloroform and is a required step in production of potable water. HAs can bind soil toxins along with plant nutrients and they strongly stabilize soils. For these reasons more widespread HA production from composting and future applications of HAs extracted from coal will help to combat water and soil pollution, fight soil erosion, and lessen our dependence on chemical fertilizers.
|
|
| More Information |
 Citation |
Davies, Geoffrey; Ghabbour, Elham A.; Steelink, Cornelius. J. Chem. Educ. 2001 78 1609.
|
Keywords |
Agricultural Chemistry; Carbon; Environmental Chemistry; Hydrogen; Metals; Natural Products; Nitrogen; Plant Chemistry; Water / Water Chemistry
|
History |
Created:
Last Updated: |
November 2, 2001
August 31, 2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues >
2001
>
December
> Page
1609
|
|
|
| JCE HS CLIC |
|
Our Secondary School editors work hard to distill all the JCE materials to produce a fraction of particular interest to high school teachers. We call it CLIC.
|
| Contributions Welcome |
| JCE welcomes your submission |
| Advertisers |
| In recent years we have worked hard to better match our advertisers with our readers. When shopping for chemistry education materials, visit our advertisers' WWW sites first. |
| Be An Ambassador |
| Take JCE along on your outreach missions. Copies of the Journal, guest access to JCE Online, our publications catalog, and more are available for your participants. |
|
