Humin estuarine sediments

Figure 4, Representative CPMAS NMR spectra of demineralized humin from marine and estuarine sediments ...

Selective extraction was used to operationally determine the quantitative and qualitative distributions of PCB 8 and saturated hydrocarbons among free lipid (FL), humic acid (HA), and humin (HU) fractions of four contaminated estuarine sediments. In all samples, over 90% of the total sedimentary PCB s and hydrocarbons were extracted with FL fractions. Bound (HA and HD) and free assemblages of these compounds may have derived from different sources. Two polar, chlorinated pollutants also detected In this study, hexachlorophene (HCP) and pentachlorophenol (PCP), were proportionately more concentrated In bound fractions than the non-polar compounds HCP was detected only In HA fractions and was probably chemically hound to refractory organic matter. Selective extraction Is a promising technique for Investigating strongly bound polar pollutants, such as HCP, which apparently are not recovered by conventional solvent extraction. 

Humin varies widely in composition. Sediments derived from algal/microbial biomass have humin with paraffinic structures resembling those of corresponding humic acids. Estuarine or coastal marine sediments examined in this study have humin with highly aromatic structures which resemble coal-like materials rather than modern plant residues. In these latter sediments no structural correspondence exists between humin and humic acids which appear to more nearly reflect the nature of modern plant... 

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