Formation of humic acid
Short answer: Humic acid forms in soil when microbes break down plant and animal remains, mainly plant material such as lignin, and the products slowly combine into larger, stable organic compounds. This process, called humification, takes years to centuries and depends on climate, moisture, oxygen and the type of plant material.
Stages of humic acid formation in soil
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Input | Leaves, roots, crop residues and animal remains enter the soil |
| 2. Decomposition | Microbes break down sugars, proteins and cellulose first; lignin breaks down more slowly |
| 3. Transformation | Breakdown products (phenols, quinones, amino compounds) react and combine |
| 4. Humification | Stable, dark humic substances build up: humic acid, fulvic acid and humin |
| 5. Accumulation | Over long periods, deposits such as peat, lignite and leonardite form |
Commercial humic acid is not made in soil but extracted from these deposits; see how humic acid is produced.
Formation of humic acid need to make clear what is nature,Humic Acid (HA) is a kind of organic matter accumulated by animal and plant remains, mainly plant remains, through microbial decomposition and transformation, and a series of chemical processes.
Humic acid is a mixture of natural organic macromolecular compounds. It is composed of aromatic and various functional groups. It has a high molecular weight, yellow to black, amorphous, and gelatinous. It cannot be expressed by a single chemical structural formula and has good physiological activity.
As well as absorption, complexation, exchange and other functions, the main part of the humic acid formed by a series of biochemical processes is the total humic acid containing humic acid and yellow humic acid.
Total humic acid is a natural, pollution-free organic matter that provides concentrated amounts of nutrients, vitamins and trace elements to soils and crops.
Total humic acid is a mixed molecule widely found in soil, lakes, rivers, oceans, and peat (also known as peat), lignite, and weathered coal. Classified by nature, it can be divided into three categories, namely soil humic acid, water humic acid and coal humic acid.
In the early 1990s, biochemical humic acid or raw was extracted by fermentation and by inoculation. Organic acid substances such as fulvic acid.
The best raw material for humic acid is the humic acid deposit in soft brown coal, which is academically called weathered lignite. The test proves that the content of humic acid in weathered coal is relatively high.
Due to the high oxidizing (weathering) of weathered coal, he can not reach the state of coal, and also differs from soft lignite. The formation process of coal is swamp → peat → coal. Therefore, it can be said that the weathered lignite contains both a high humic acid content and a high carbon content.
Compared to other organic products, weathered lignite is rich in humic acid. Weathered lignite is a terminal product formed after 70 million years of humic acid derivatization. Compared with acid, peat formation has only been for thousands of years.
The main advantage of weathered lignite as a raw material for the production of humic acid compared with other humic acid production materials is the ecological activity determined by its molecular structure.
The ecological activity of weathered lignite is 5 times that of other humic acids, which means that 1 kg of weathered lignite is equivalent to 5 kg of other organic materials of humic acid. Compared with the content of humic acid, 1 kg of liquid humic acid is equivalent to 7- The humic acid content of 8 tons of organic fertilizer, the same powdery humic acid 1 kg is equivalent to the humic acid content of 30 tons of fertilizer.
Weathered lignite is not a fertilizer, it is a soil blending agent, a catalyst for crop growth and a stimulant, and it can increase crop yield and soil fertility. In addition, a long-term function of weathered coal is that it can absorb animal waste and compost faster.
Weathered coal is completely decomposed and does not participate in the competition for nutrients, such as nitrogen, which is different from compost in incomplete decomposition, because organic matter in compost is quickly absorbed by microscopic organisms in the soil and is Mineralized without forming any humus. The humic acid series can continuously improve the soil structure for five years.
Frequently asked questions
How is humic acid formed?
By the microbial decomposition of plant and animal remains and the slow combination of the breakdown products into stable organic compounds (humification).
How long does humic acid take to form?
Years to centuries in soil; deposits such as leonardite and lignite formed over geological time.
What affects humic acid formation?
Climate, moisture, oxygen, soil microbes and the type of plant material, especially its lignin content.
Is humic acid formed from lignin?
Lignin is one important starting material, but humic acid forms from a mix of plant and microbial breakdown products.
