C-1s NEXAFS spectroscopy reveals chemical fractionation of humic acid by cation-induced coagulation.
The influence of cation-induced coagulation on the chemical composition of dissolved and coagulated fractions of humic acid was investigated in batch coagulation experiments for additions of aluminum at pH 4 and 5, iron at pH 4, and calcium and lead at pH 6. The partitioning of organic carbon and metals was determined by analyzing total organic carbon and total metal contents of the dissolved phase. Both the dissolved and the coagulated humic acid fractions were characterized using synchrotron scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) and C-1s near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. Intensities of pi* transitions of carboxyl carbon and sigma* transitions of alkyl, O-alkyl, and carboxyl carbon decreased with increasing metal concentration for the dissolved humic acid fractions. This decrease was accompanied by an increase of the respective intensities in the coagulated fraction as shown for lead. Intensities of aromatic and phenolic carbon were affected to a larger extent only by aluminum and iron additions. The changes observed in the C-1s NEXAFS spectra coincided with an increasing removal of organic carbon from the dissolved phase with increasing total metal concentrations. We conclude that humic acid was chemically fractionated by cation-induced coagulation, which preferentially removed functional groups involved in metal-cation binding from solution.
Christl
Iso
I
Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, Department of Environmental Sciences, ETH Zürich, CHN, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland. iso.christl@env.ethz.ch
Kretzschmar
Ruben
R
D000535:Aluminum / Q000737:chemistry; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D002412:Cations / Q000737:chemistry*; D005591:Chemical Fractionation; D006812:Humic Substances / Q000032:analysis*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods; D014965:X-Rays
D002412:Cations; D006812:Humic Substances; D008670:Metals; D002244:Carbon; D000535:Aluminum