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Inhibition of iron precipitation by humic substances in field drains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

D. Vaughan
Affiliation:
The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB9 2QJ, UK
B. G. Ord
Affiliation:
The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB9 2QJ, UK

Summary

Ferrous iron is oxidized and precipitated as iron ochre in field drains. In drainage waters taken from an ochre-producing site near Aberdeen, Scotland in 1987, iron deposition was inhibited by the addition of humic and fulvic acids, which form complexes with Fe(II). The inhibition was dependent on the concentrations of soluble humic materials and the proportion of Fe complexed. Iron deposition in the presence of humic substances is discussed in relation to the amount of the cation which is complexed and its oxidation state.

Type
Crops and Soils
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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