ANALYTICAL AND SPECTROSCOPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF HUMIC ACIDS EXTRACTED FROM SEWAGE-SLUDGE, MANURE, AND WORM COMPOST

Humic acids extracted from sewage sludges, manure, and worm compost have been characterized by chemical and spec-troscopic methods. Meaningful differences in the composition were revealed by FT IR,1H,13C NMR, and visible spectroscopies. These differences allow a differentiation amomg the products depending on the source from which they were obtained. Humic acid extracted from sewage sludges contains the highest percentage of aliphatic carbon, associated with polysaccharides and proteinaceous structures, and has characteristics close to those of aquatic humic acids. On the other hand, humic acids from manure and worm compost are similar to the humic acids originating from soil. © 1990 Williams & Wilkins.