Chemical and Spectroscopic Characterization of Humic Acids Extracted from Filter Cake using Different Basic Solutions

• Published in: Sugar tech : an international journal of sugar crops & related industries Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 311 - 318
• Main Authors: Behravan, Hamid Reza, Voroney, Paul, Khorassani, Reza, Fotovat, Amir, Moezei, Abdol Amir, Taghavi, Mehdi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Delhi Springer India 01.04.2020; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acids; Agriculture; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Chemical analysis; Distilled water; Environmental changes; Environmental science; Experiments; Filter cake; Fourier analysis; Fourier transforms; Humic acid; Humic acids; Industrial plants; Infrared spectroscopy; Ions; Life Sciences; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Research Article; Sugarcane; Vinasse; Water purification; Sugarcane; Filter cake; Humic acid; Vinasse
• ISSN: 0972-1525; 0974-0740; 0972-1525
• DOI: 10.1007/s12355-019-00770-5

Filter cake is a valuable by-product generated during the process of making sugar from sugarcane in factories. The purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of different basic solutions on humic acid extraction rate. Chemical and spectroscopic characterization of humic acids extracted from filter cake has also been investigated. In this research, extraction and chemistry of humic acid have been studied in two separate experiments. In the first experiment, humic acid was taken from filter cake using the IHSS reference method in three concentrations (0.5 M, 1 M and 2 M) of KOH and two preparation liquids (water and vinasses) in the laboratory of the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph. Changes in the extraction rate of humic acid with type and concentration of base solution also were studied. In the second experiment, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and 13 C NMR were used to examine the chemistry of humic acid extracted from filter cake by 0.5 M KOH solutions (prepared using distilled water and vinasse). The results indicate that the highest extraction rate of humic acid was obtained when the 2 M KOH made from vinasse solution was used. Elemental analysis results, FTIR and NMR analyses as well as the E4/E6 ratio showed that all samples of extracted humic acid had similar chemical characteristics compared to the reference humic acid.