Decomposition, stages disintegration

Abbau-mittel, n. decomposing or disintegrating agent, -produkt, n. decomposition product, degradation product, -stufe, /. step or stage in decomposition or degradation. 

A wide variety of spectroscopic techniques [1-4] are used to provide information about the identities and amounts of reactant, the solid product(s), or the solid phase(s) present at intermediate stages of the decomposition. The cooling of reactant samples after partial or complete decomposition may be accompanied by changes such as crystallographic transformations, solidification of any molten material and particle disintegration. Interpretations of observations must take account of these possibilities. 

Hydroperoxides formed at the propagation stage of the free radical oxidation, as well as those produced by photooxidation and enzyme-catalyzed oxidation, can disintegrate and yield alcoxyl, alkyl, and peroxyl radicals, which reinitiate the oxidation of nnsatnrated FA. Hydroperoxide decomposition may be triggered by tem-peratnre and/or light, bnt most important in this respect is the activity of transition metals, mainly iron and copper [see Eqnations (8.5) and (8.6)]. 

At this stage it is necessary to define weathering and soil formation. Weathering may be loosely defined as the total effect of all processes involved in the disintegration (physical processes) and decomposition (chemical processes) of rocks. Soil formation is defined as the transformation of rock material into soil. The fact that the soil is a product of weathering... 

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