Effects of pH and phosphate on the adsorptive fractionation of purified Aldrich humic acid on kaolinite and hematite

The molecular weight (MW) fractionation of purified Aldrich humic acid (PAHA) resulting from adsorption on kaolinite and hematite was investigated for different solution pH and phosphate conditions. Adsorption was highly pH-dependent, with higher uptake at lower pH values. For all pH conditions, the weight-average MW (MWw) of residual PAHA remaining in solution after adsorption deviated from the original MWw, indicating that preferential adsorption of certain MW components occurred. The extent of preferential adsorption depended on the percent carbon adsorption at a given pH condition. For similar percent carbon adsorption ranges, a greater extent of preferential adsorption of the higher MW PAHA components was observed with higher pH values as demonstrated by the lowest residual MWw value occurring at pH 9. Detailed analyses of selected residual PAHA samples clearly showed that adsorption selectivity for particular MW components was strongly influenced by solution pH. The extent of preferential adsorption of lower MW PAHA components decreased in the presence of a small amount of phosphate. This effect was more evident for hematite than kaolinite, and became greater with lower solution pH irrespective of the mineral type. The different fractionation patterns observed for PAHA were reasonably well explained by the physicochemical trends occurring in its MWw fractions and the underlying sorption processes.     

Charge Adjustments upon Adsorption of a Weak Polyelectrolyte to a Mineral Oxide: The Hematite-Humic Acid System

The proton adsorption to a mixture of purified Aldrich humic acid (PAHA) and hematite is investigated. Basic insight into the charge adjustment process is obtained by using a self-consistent-field lattice theory for polyelectrolyte adsorption. The calculations indicate that upon adsorption the component with the highest initial charge density tends to induce charges on the other component. The number of induced charges can show a maximum when the surface charge and the charge of the segments in direct contact with the surface roughly balance each other. Experimentally, the humic acid-hematite system is investigated by proton titrations. The alterations in charge density caused by adsorption of PAHA to hematite are investigated by comparing the proton adsorption on the individual samples with that on their mixtures. Upon adsorption a part of the functional groups of humic acid forms complexes with some of the surface sites of hematite. This interaction reduces the proton binding to the humic acid at relatively low pH and it promotes the proton adsorption on the oxide surface at relatively high pH. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

Humic acid sorption onto a quartz sand surface: A kinetic study and insight into fractionation

A kinetic study of Aldrich humic acid sorption onto a quartz sand surface has revealed an initial rapid uptake of humic acid molecules followed by a much slower sorption. The humic acid molecular weight and chemical fractionation resulting from adsorption onto the simple quartz sand surface were investigated for the two kinetic steps by coupled asymmetric flow-field flow fractionation-UV/visible absorption spectrophotometry. The molecular weight distribution of residual humic acid in solution after adsorption deviated from the original molecular weight distribution, showing preferential adsorption of certain molecular weight components. This fractionation is different after the two kinetic steps. Humic acid molecules characterised by a molecular weight below 4800 Da and with a weight-average molecular weight (M(w)) of 1450 Da were adsorbed after the fast kinetic step, whereas humic acid molecules in the molecular weight range 1400-9200 Da and of M(w) 3700 Da were adsorbed after the slower uptake. Therefore, the adsorption of low molecular weight humic components takes place initially, and is then followed by the adsorption of higher molecular weight components. Chemical adsorptive fractionation, investigated by studying the 253 nm/203 nm absorbance ratio over time, shows that aromatic components are preferentially adsorbed during the fast kinetic step. The fractionation pattern may be explained by the physicochemical characteristics of the Aldrich humic acid and the underlying sorption processes. The trend for the sorption kinetics of europium onto the quartz sand surface in the presence of humic acid is similar to that of the humic acid itself.     

Characterization of aquatic humic substances and their metal complexes by immobilized metal-chelate affinity chromatography on iron(III)-loaded ion exchangers

The analytical fractionation of aquatic humic substances (HS) by means of immobilized metal-chelate affinity chromatography (IMAC) on metal-loaded chelating ion exchangers is described. The cellulose HYPHAN, loaded with different trivalent ions, and the chelate exchanger Chelex 100, loaded to 90% of its capacity with Fe(III), were used. The cellulose HYPHAN, loaded with 2% Fe(III), resulted in HS distribution coefficients K_d of up to 10^3.7 mL/g at pH 4.0 continuously decreasing down to 10^1.5 at pH 12, which were appropriate for HS fractionation by a pH-depending chromatographic procedure. Similar distribution coefficients K_d were obtained for HS sorption onto Fe(III)-loaded Chelex 100. On the basis of Fe-loaded HYPHAN both, a low-pressure and high-pressure IMAC technique, were developed for the fractionation of dissolved HS applying a buffer-based pH gradient for their gradual elution between pH 4.0 and 12.0. By coupling the Chelex 100 column under high-pressure conditions with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer an on-line characterization of HS metal species could be achieved. Using these fractionation procedures a number of reference HS were characterized. Accordingly, the HA (humic acids) and FA (fulvic acids) studied could be discriminated into up to 6 fractions by applying cellulose HYPHAN, significantly differing in their Cu(II) complexation capacity but hardly in their substructures assessed by conventional FTIR. In the case of using Chelex 100 exchanger resin two major UV active HS fractions were obtained, which significantly differ in their complexation properties for Cu(II) and Pb(II), respectively.     

Characterization of aquatic humic substances and their metal complexes by immobilized metal-chelate affinity chromatography on iron(III)-loaded ion exchangers

The analytical fractionation of aquatic humic substances (HS) by means of immobilized metal-chelate affinity chromatography (IMAC) on metal-loaded chelating ion exchangers is described. The cellulose HYPHAN, loaded with different trivalent ions, and the chelate exchanger Chelex 100, loaded to 90% of its capacity with Fe(III), were used. The cellulose HYPHAN, loaded with 2% Fe(III), resulted in HS distribution coefficients Kd of up to 10(3.7) mL/g at pH 4.0 continuously decreasing down to 10(1.5) at pH 12, which were appropriate for HS fractionation by a pH-depending chromatographic procedure. Similar distribution coefficients Kd were obtained for HS sorption onto Fe(III)-loaded Chelex 100. On the basis of Fe-loaded HYPHAN both, a low-pressure and high-pressure IMAC technique, were developed for the fractionation of dissolved HS applying a buffer-based pH gradient for their gradual elution between pH 4.0 and 12.0. By coupling the Chelex 100 column under high-pressure conditions with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer an on-line characterization of HS metal species could be achieved. Using these fractionation procedures a number of reference HS were characterized. Accordingly, the HA (humic acids) and FA (fulvic acids) studied could be discriminated into up to 6 fractions by applying cellulose HYPHAN, significantly differing in their Cu(II) complexation capacity but hardly in their substructures assessed by conventional FTIR. In the case of using Chelex 100 exchanger resin two major UV active HS fractions were obtained, which significantly differ in their complexation properties for Cu(II) and Pb(II), respectively.     

Adsorption of humic acid on goethite: isotherms, charge adjustments, and potential profiles

The adsorption of natural organic matter (NOM) on mineral (hydr)oxide plays an important role in the evaluation of the speciation of toxic metal ions in the environment. Because both NOM and mineral oxide have variable charges that adjust upon adsorption, a good understanding of proton binding is required before the binding of metal ions can be understood. In this study, the adsorption of purified Aldrich humic acid (PAHA) on goethite was examined as a function of the environmental conditions (pH, salt concentration, and free concentration of PAHA) together with the proton adsorption to PAHA, goethite, and their mixtures. The induced charges on both components were separated on the basis of the difference between the charge/pH curves of the mixture and those of the single components. The electrostatic potential profile across the adsorbed layer was obtained as a numerical solution of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation using the charge density of the adsorbed PAHA and the goethite surface. From the quantitative evaluation of the induced charge on both components, it is revealed that the degree of the charge adjustment is related to the electrostatic affinity between the PAHA segments and the goethite surface, the electrostatic repulsion between the PAHA segments, and the electrostatic shielding by salt ions. Considering the charge distribution of the adsorbed PAHA at the goethite surface, it is concluded that the change of the charge adjustment is sensitive to that of the conformation of the adsorbed PAHA. From the detailed inspection of the assumptions made and the comparison with the reported theoretical calculations, the obtained potential profiles are considered to broadly reflect the true potential profiles. Because a charge adjustment is not frequently considered in detail in relation to the NOM adsorption on metal (hydr)oxides, the obtained results can form the basis for the further development of modeling of the adsorption of NOM on (hydr)oxide surfaces.     

Contribution of redox-active properties of compost-derived humic substances in hematite bioreduction

The compost-derived humic substances(HS) can function as electron mediators for promoting hematite bioreduction because of its redox capacity. Humification process can affect redox capacities of compostderived HS by changing its intrinsic structure. However, the redox properties of compost-derived HS linking with hematite bioreduction during composting still remain unclear. Herein, we investigated the redox capacities of compost-derived HS, and assessed the responses of the redox capacities to t...     

Humic acid fractionation upon sequential adsorption onto goethite

Mineral-humic complexes are commonly distributed in natural environments and are important in regulating the transport and retention of hydrophobic organic contaminants in soils and sediments. This study investigated the structural and conformational changes of humic acid (HA) and mineral-HA complexes after sequential HA adsorption by goethite, using UV-visible spectroscopy, high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The HA remaining in the solution after adsorption showed low polarity index values ((N+O)/C), which indicates that polar functional moieties are likely to adsorb on the goethite surface. In addition, we observed decreased E4/E6 and E2/E3 ratios of unbound HA with increasing number of coatings, implying that aliphatic rich HA fractions with polar functional moieties readily adsorb to the goethite surface. According to IR spectra, carbohydrate carbon would be the important fractions associated with goethite. NMR spectra provided evidence for HA fractionation during adsorption onto the mineral surface; that is, aliphatic fractions were preferentially adsorbed by goethite while aromatic fractions were left in solution. Relatively small molecular weight (MW) HA fractions had a greater affinity for the goethite surface based on analyses of the HPSEC chromatograms, which differs from the results reported in the literature. Finally, our results suggest that the polar aliphatic fractions of HA were mainly adsorbed to goethite via electrostatic attraction and/or ligand exchange reactions.     

Speciation of nickel,copper, zinc,and manganese in different edible nuts: a comparative study of molecular size distribution by SEC–UV–ICP–MS

Molecular size distribution patterns of Cu, Mn, Ni, and Zn were determined in several nut species by size-exclusion liquid chromatography (SEC) coupled on-line to UV and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) for detection. The molecular weight (MW) fractionation of the different metals was performed with a Superdex Peptide column, injecting 100 L of the extracted solutions. The association of the elements with different MW fractions was observed with sequential detection by UV and ICP–MS. Various separation conditions were evaluated to obtain proper resolution and reproducible results with the size-exclusion column. Complete MW information of the elemental fractions in the nut samples was obtained within a retention time of 30 min. Fractionation of the above mentioned elements was done in nine different nut species commonly found in commercial markets. Variability of the fractionation patterns for two different extraction media, 0.05 mol L^–1 NaOH and 0.05 mol L^–1 HCl, was evaluated for every nut sample. Differences in the elemental fractionation patterns were found depending on the extraction procedure, nut species, and the type of element studied. It was also observed that the elements studied showed predominant association with high MW fractions when extracted with basic solution whereas with acidic extraction media only low MW fractions were obtained.     

Adsorption of UO2 2+ on natural composite materials

The prediction of the adsorption behavior of natural composite materials was studied by a single mineral approach. The adsorption of U(VI) on single minerals such as goethite, hematite, kaolinite and quartz was fully modeled using the diffuse-layer model in various experimental conditions. A quasi-thermodynamic database of surface complexation constants for single minerals was established in a consistent manner. In a preliminary work, the adsorption of a synthetic mixture of goethite and kaolinite was simulated using the model established for a single mineral system. The competitive adsorption of U(VI) between goethite and kaolinite can be well explained by the model. The adsorption behavior of natural composite materials taken from the Koongarra uranium deposit (Australia) was predicted in a similar manner. In comparison with the synthetic mixture, the prediction was less successful in the acidic pH range. However, the model predicted well the adsorption behavior in the neutral to alkaline pH range. Furthermore, the model reasonably explained the role of iron oxide minerals in the adsorption of U(VI) on natural composite materials.     

On-line fractionation and characterization of aquatic humic substances by means of sequential-stage ultrafiltration

A five-stage tangential-flow ultrafiltration (UF) device equipped with advanced membrane filters (molecular weight cut-off: 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 kDalton) of the polyethersulfone type is described and applied for the analytical on-line fractionation of a series of aquatic humic substances (HS) originating from surface or groundwaters. Fractionation patterns of HS (6 fractions each) evaluated by this UF device exhibit their particular dependence on the HS concentration, the pH-value and the salt content of the sample (10 ml) to be analyzed. Fundamental parameters (e.g., washing volume) governing the molecular-size fractionation of HS by means of multistage UF are discussed, too. The fractionation of an aquatic reference HS (BOC 3/9.5) by means of the above UF procedure reveals considerable differences preferably characterized by the UV-VIS absorption ratio E₃₅₀/E₄₅₀ and metal complexing capacity (Cu(II)) of the produced fractions. Moreover, molecular spectroscopy investigations (FTIR, ¹H-NMR) of the fraction series of this HS indicate that carbohydrate substructures (preferably found in fractions >50 k Dalton) and aromatic ones (preferably in fractions <5 k Dalton) are unevenly distributed.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Dieter Klockow on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Quantification of carbohydrate structures in size fractionated aquatic humic substances by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance

Two-dimensional phase sensitive C,H correlation spectra were successfully applied to the quantification of carbohydrate substructures in aquatic humic substance (HS) fractions obtained by tangential flow multistage ultrafiltration (TFMSTUF) of a selected bog water HS (HO13, German Research Program DFG-ROSIG) as well as a river HS (Suwannee River Fulvic Acid Reference of the International Humic Substances Society, IHSS). It turns out that after size fractionation the HS samples give very well resolved C,H-correlation spectra which offer a great potential for substructure quantification. Details of the combined substructure quantification technique, novel in HS characterization, are presented. The results of the combined procedure point out that carbohydrate moieties predominantly occur in higher molecular mass fractions (> 10 kDa) of isolated HS.     

Ultrafiltration and determination of Zn- and Cu-humic substances complexes stability constants

This study exhibits that size fractionation of humic substances (HS) and their metal complexes by ultrafiltration is an efficient procedure for simultaneous determination of stability constants. Using sequential-stage ultrafiltration and a radiotracer technique the HS–Cu and HS–Zn complexes studied can gently be size-fractionated and their free metal fractions simply be discriminated. The conditional stability constants Ki obtained for size fractions of these HS metal complexes exhibit a clear molecular size dependence. Accordingly, the highest Ki values (6.6 for Zn and 6.4 for Cu) are found in the HS fractions of >105 kDa. Moreover, the overall stability constants K found for Cu (log K=5.5) and Zn complexes (log K=4.5) of the aquatic HS complexes studied are quite comparable to those reported in the literature.     

Analytical fractionation of aquatic humic substances and their metal species by means of multistage ultrafiltration

The molecular-size fractionation of aquatic humic substances (HS) and their metal species by means of a novel sequential-stage ultrafiltration (UF) device equipped with five appropriate ultramembranes (1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 kD) is described. First of all, the concentration dynamics of macromolecules, particulary HS, during five-stage UF and its subsequent washing step has been modelled. Based on these results, the fractionation of aquatic HS (from ground and bog water) by means of multistage UF has been optimized for an analytical scale (10 ml sample, 1 mg/ml HS, 10 ml washing solution, pH 6.0). The molecular size-distribution of selected aquatic HS (BOC 1/2 from the "DFG-Versuchsfeld Bocholt", VM 5 from "Venner Moor", Germany) studied by five-stage UF exhibited strong systematic influences of the procedure used for their isolation. The molecular-size distribution of HS obtained by on-line UF and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) showed a satisfactory agreement in the range 1-50 kD. Moreover, when interrupting multistage UF for > 48 h a slow transformation in the HS samples has been found as gradually additional HS fractions of < 1 kD have been formed. Besides unloaded HS molecules, the molecular-size distribution of freshly formed metal species of HS (1.0 mg metal/g HS of Al(III), Cd(II), Cu(II), Fe(III), Mn(II), Ni(II), Pb(II), Zn(II), each) has been characterized by multistage UF as a function of pH-value, degree of loading and complexation time. Metal determinations as carried out by flame AAS, showed that considerable metal fractions in HS especially are present in molecules > 50 kD, which seemed to be rather acid-inert. With complexation times of < 2 days a transient shift of the molecular size distribution of both HS and their metal species (e.g., Al(III), Fe(III) to higher values (> 10 kD) has been found.     

Adsorption of organic matter at mineral/water interfaces. IV. Adsorption of humic substances at boehmite/water interfaces and impact on boehmite dissolution

The adsorption of Suwannee River fulvic acid (SRFA) and Pahokee peat humic acid (PPHA) at the boehmite (gamma-AlOOH)/water interface and the impact of SRFA on boehmite dissolution have been examined over a wide range of solution pH conditions (pH 2-12), SRFA surface coverages (Gamma(SRFA), total SRFA binding site concentration normalized by the boehmite surface area) of 0.0-5.33 micromol m(-2), and PPHA surface coverages (Gamma(PPHA), PPHA binding site concentration normalized by boehmite surface area) of 0.0-4.0 micromol m(-2), using macroscopic adsorption and in situ attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. At relatively high SRFA surface coverages (Gamma(SRFA) = 5.33 micromol m(-2)), in situ ATR-FTIR spectral features of adsorbed SRFA are very similar to those measured for SRFA in solution at approximately 1-3 pH units higher. At sub-monolayer surface coverages (Gamma(SRFA) = 1.20 and 2.20 micromol m(-2)), several new peaks and enhancements of the intensities of a number of existing peaks are observed. The latter spectral changes arise from several nonorganic extrinsic species (i.e., adsorbed carbonate and water, for alkaline solution conditions), partially protonated SRFA carboxyl functional groups (near-neutral pH conditions), and small quantities of inner-spherically adsorbed SRFA carboxyl groups and/or Al(III)-SRFA complexes (for acidic conditions). The spectra of PPHA adsorbed at boehmite/water interfaces also showed changes generally consistent with our observations for SRFA sorbed on boehmite. These observations confirm that SRFA and PPHA are predominantly adsorbed at the boehmite/water interface in an outer-sphere fashion, with minor inner-sphere adsorption complexes being formed only under quite acidic conditions. They also suggest that the positively charged boehmite/water interface stabilizes SRFA and PPHA carboxyl functional groups against protonation at lower pH. Measurements of the concentration of dissolved Al(III) ions in the absence and presence of SRFA showed that the boehmite dissolution process is clearly inhibited by the adsorption of SRFA, which is consistent with previous observations that outer-spherically adsorbed organic anions inhibit Al-(oxyhydr)oxide dissolution.     

Quantification of carbohydrate structures in size fractionated aquatic humic substances by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance

Two-dimensional phase sensitive C,H correlation spectra were successfully applied to the quantification of carbohydrate substructures in aquatic humic substance (HS) fractions obtained by tangential flow multistage ultrafiltration (TFMSTUF) of a selected bog water HS (HO13, German Research Program DFG-ROSIG) as well as a river HS (Suwannee River Fulvic Acid Reference of the International Humic Substances Society, IHSS). It turns out that after size fractionation the HS samples give very well resolved C,H-correlation spectra which offer a great potential for substructure quantification. Details of the combined substructure quantification technique, novel in HS characterization, are presented. The results of the combined procedure point out that carbohydrate moieties predominantly occur in higher molecular mass fractions (> 10 kDa) of isolated HS.     

Binding of ionic surfactants to purified humic acid

The binding of organic contaminants to dissolved humic acids reduces the free concentration of the contaminants in the environment and also may cause changes to the solution properties of humic acids. Surfactants are a special class of contaminants that are introduced into the environment either through wastewater or by site-specific contamination. The amphiphilic nature of both surfactants and humic acids can easily lead to their mutual attraction and consequently affect the solution behavior of the humics. Binding of an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) and two cationic surfactants (dodecyl- and cetylpyridinium chloride, DPC and CPC) to purified Aldrich humic acid (PAHA) is studied at pH values of 5, 7, and 10 in solutions with a 0.025 M ionic strength (I). Monomer concentrations of the surfactants are measured with a surfactant-selective electrode. At I = 0.025 M, no significant binding is observed between the anionic surfactant (SDS) and PAHA, whereas the two cationic surfactants (DPC, CPC) bind strongly to PAHA over the pH range investigated. The binding is due both to electrostatic and hydrophobic attraction. The initial affinity increases with increasing pH (i.e., negative charge of PAHA) and tail length of the surfactant. Binding reaches a pseudo-plateau value (2-5 mmol/g) when the charge associated with PAHA is neutralized by that of the bound surfactant molecules. The pseudo-plateau values for DPC and CPC are very similar and depend on the solution pH. The cationic surfactant-PAHA complexes precipitate when the charge neutralization point is reached. This occurs at approximately 10% of the critical micelle concentration or CMC. This type of phase separation commonly occurs during surfactant binding to oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. For CPC, the precipitation is complete, but in the case of DPC, a noticeable fraction of PAHA remains in solution. At very low CPC concentrations (less than 0.1% of the CMC), CPC binding to PAHA is cooperative. The investigated range of concentrations for DPC was too limited to reach a similar conclusion. The results of this study demonstrate that the fate of humic acids will be strongly affected by the presence of low cationic surfactant concentrations in aqueous environmental systems.     

Determination of heavy metal complexes with humic substances by HPLC/ICP-MS coupling using on-line isotope dilution technique

An isotope dilution mass spectrometric (IDMS) method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of the complexes of 11 heavy metals (Ag, Cd, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, Tl, U, W, Zn and Zr) with humic substances (HS) by coupling HPLC with ICP-MS and applying the on-line isotope dilution technique. The HPLC separation was carried out with size exclusion chromatography. This HPLC/ICP-IDMS method was applied to samples from a brown water, ground water, sewage and seepage water as well as for a sample containing isolated fulvic acids. The total contents of heavy metals and of their complexes were analyzed in these samples with detection limits in the range of 5–110 ng/L. The analysis of heavy metal/HS complexes from the different waters resulted in characteristic fingerprints of the distribution pattern of heavy metals in the separated HS fractions. A comparison between the total heavy metal concentrations and their portions bound to humic substances showed distinct differences for the various metals. Simultaneous ¹²C detection was used for the characterization of HS complexes not identified by UV detection and for the determination of relative DOC concentrations of chromatographic peaks. Received: 21 February 1997 / Revised: 27 May 1997 / Accepted: 28 May 1997