Humic Acid Extraction Methods Explained
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ismmosaadHumic Acid Extraction Methods Explained
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ismmosaadExtraction of Humic Substances
By
Prof. Dr. Ibrahim S. M. Mosaad
Soil, Water and Environmental Research Institute, ARC - Egypt
Introduction:
The topic of extracting Humic acid Humic acids seen a great deal of work.
A variety of starting materials including soil, coal, and decayed plant matter
Humic acids been successfully used to obtain Humic acid. Extractions are
typically performed one of two ways. The first is the use of a basic solution to
dissolve humic and fulvic materials, enabling their separation from insoluble
components. The alkaline solution is then acidified to precipitate Humic acid
which can then be collected. Solvent extraction is the other method typically used
to obtain Humic acid from a precursor material. With a careful solvent selection,
Humic acid of similar quality and quantity to Humic acid extracted by base-acid
can be obtained.
Aqueous Solvent Extraction
Aqueous extraction of Humic acid using basic and acidic solutions is the
most popular method used today due to its simplicity. The first comprehensive
studies on Humic acid were assembled and published by Sprengel in 1826, in
which he used alkaline and acidic solutions to extract Humic acid from the soil.
His method of extraction was similar to the limited work on Humic acid
conducted previously, and Humic acids been used since due to its ease and
effectiveness. This Humic acid extraction procedure utilizing basic and acidic
solutions laid the groundwork for humic acids would eventually become the
standardized procedure of the International Humic Substance Society (IHSS) for
the extraction and quantification of humic and fulvic substances.
Humic and fulvic substances.
In 1959 Frost, Hoeppner, and Fowkes published their findings on
extraction procedures for coal and leonardite for obtaining low-ash Humic acid.
Their work included using several alkalis to extract lignite slack material as well
as leonardite, naturally occurring form of oxidized lignite coal. They found strong
evidence Humic acid metal ions complexed with Humic acid could be removed
by treatment with dilute acid. Washing the extracted Humic acid with water then
resulted in reduced ash content, as low as 0.20% by mass. They also reported
Humic acid yields of up to 86% per cent were possible with this procedure. The
work of Frost, Hoeppner, and Fowkes resulted in the first unofficial, but widely
accepted procedure for the extraction of low-ash Humic acid by alkaline
extraction. Their procedure was followed by many until the IHSS standardized
Humic acid extraction procedure was published.
The first standardized procedure was published in 1981 as a Humic acid
out for members of the International Humic Substance Society (IHSS). This
publication provided guidelines on testing soils and coal for Humic acid with a
procedure very similar to Humic acid developed by Frost, Hoeppner, and Fowkes.
It detailed using 0.1 N NaOH in an amount equal to 10 ml per 1 gram of soil to
extract humic materials. This was to be followed by acidification to a pH of 1
using 6 N HCl, and the solids removed from solution by centrifuging or filtration.
The resulting raw Humic acid obtained by this procedure is suitable for
qualitative analysis or further purification and refinement. This standardized
procedure is still used today as the main method for the extraction and
quantification of humic and fulvic materials. Several other procedures Humic
acids have been developed, but still, none are as popular or as widely used as the
IHSS method. A method similar to the IHSS procedure, but which utilizes the
carbon content of the soil to determine solvent volume was developed by
researchers at Nagoya University in 1992. This procedure termed the “NAGOYA
method”, did not produce Humic acid was significantly different Humic acid
obtained by the IHSS procedure. It also required users to know the exact carbon
content of their soil, which was considered a downside. Humic acid can be
concluded from all of these works is Humic acid the alkaline-based extraction
procedure for Humic acid originally developed in 1826 and standardized into the
IHSS procedure Humic acids proven to be a robust, effective method for
obtaining usable quantities of Humic acid from soils and decayed organic matter,
and is still being utilized today.
Benefits of humic materials for soil and plant:
1- Reducing the stress process that appears on plants
2- Reducing the phenomenon of load exchange in fruit trees
3- Reducing and limiting the effect of frost on seedlings and trees at night hours
4- Protecting plants from damage
5- Strengthening the plant's immune system.
6- Protecting plants from harmful insects.
7- Providing humus around the root system of trees in order to provide the
necessary humidity for plant growth and controlling the texture of the soil.
8- A storehouse for items in excess of plants.
9- Adjust both PH and EC for soil.
Plant addition rates per hectare.
The addition rate is 25 liters / ha (ha = 10000 m2) divided in three batches
of bribes, or 35 liters / ha divided into three batches by adding it with irrigation
water.
1- The ideal way to extract humic substances at a
commercial level
1.1. Separating humic substances (humic with fulvic) from coal:
Tools:
1- A 300-liter stainless steel bowl with a tight lid to prevent internal pressure
leakage, with a parameter to measure the internal pressure and a
thermometer to measure the internal temperature and a faucet for sampling
during the separation process. The bowl should be equipped with two
holes, the first in the upper part to enter a hose connected to the air pump
compressor, and the second hole at the bottom of the bowl to suction the
separation products.
2- A 60-liter plastic bowl
3- A flipping machine.
4- Electric heater or gas burner
5- Compressor to pump the air
6- A pH metter.
7- Glass flasks for sampling.
8- Crusher or motorized mill.
Material:
1. 100 kg organic fertilizer (municipal fertilizer or dry compost) or crushed
coal.
2. 7 kilo potassium hydroxide in case the humic acid is not separated from
fulvic acid and this is better, or sodium hydroxide in the case of separation.
3. 200 liters of water.
Method:
1. Soak 100 kg of dry organic matter or crushed charcoal in 150 liters of water
in a large container.
2. 7 kg potassium hydroxide is dissolved in 50 liters of water.
3. Soaked organic fertilizer or crushed charcoal is gradually heated with the
addition of sodium hydroxide solution gradually until a temperature of 300:
200 ° C with continuous stirring process and is done through a special
machine for that and this is done under pressure of 1.5 mbar to 3 mm bar.
4. A quantity of air is also pumped into the container during the heating
process to provide uniformity between the solutions
5. The stirring process is maintained continuously at the same rate until the
pH level reaches 8, the air pump is increased at a rate of about twice more
and the pressure increases to 3.5 mbar until we reach the pH to 6.5 In this
case the process of gradually cooling the component begins until the
temperature reaches 70 degrees percentage.
6. The product formed from the previous process is pumped to the final
product container for filtering and filling in special and prepared
containers, and through special filters to separate the impurities and
residual residue after pumping operations.
The percentage of humic acid is more than 75% fulvic acid, about 10%,
and glutamide acid 10%, and the rest are deposits accumulated in a crystalline
form that tends to dark brown colors.
Illustration of humic material extraction production line from organic or charcoal.