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Assessing redox properties of standard humic substances

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Abstract

Redox properties of humic substances (HS) control important biogeochemical processes. Thus, accurate estimation of redox properties of HS is essential. However, there is no general consensus regarding the best available measurement method of HS redox properties. In this study, we compared several common HS redox property measurement methods using anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) as model compound, and standard Elliot soil humic acid (1S102H, ESHA), reference Pahokee peat (1R103H, PPHA), and Suwannee River natural organic matter (1R101N, SRNOM) as representative HS. We found that the H2/Pd reduction method followed by incubation with ferric citrate (FeCit) reagent was incomplete, and the H2/Pd reduction method followed by incubation with potassium ferricyanide (K3Fe(CN)6) was insensitive. Stannous chloride (SnCl2) reduction followed by titration of excess stannous (Sn2+) by potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) was found to be most accurate. These findings will help in future investigations on detailed characterizations of functional groups of HS responsible for oxidation/reduction reactions.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Evans-Allen Grant from USDA and NSF Grant DEB-0543558. The authors express gratitude to Professor Garrison Sposito at the University of California, Berkeley, for providing laboratory facilities to conduct experimental work for completing this manuscript. The authors also thank Mr. Andrew Yang for his help in the laboratory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tennessee State University, 3500 John A. Merritt Boulevard, Nashville, TN, 37209-1561, USA

    S. Rakshit

  2. Department of Civil, Environmental, and Ocean Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, 1 Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, NJ, 07030, USA

    D. Sarkar

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  1. S. Rakshit
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  2. D. Sarkar
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Correspondence to S. Rakshit.

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Editorial responsibility: R. Datta.

Appendix

Appendix

See Figs. 9 and 10.

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Rakshit, S., Sarkar, D. Assessing redox properties of standard humic substances. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 14, 1497–1504 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-017-1263-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-017-1263-9

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