Abstract
As is well known without organic matter, there would be no life. Organic compounds perform very important functions in the whole ecosystem as: structural, storage, transport, catalyse reactions, immune and regulatory functions. One of the most important for both living and non-living organic matter is their role in the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen and others elements. The major form of organic matter are humic substances (HS) which are a mixture of high molecular weight organic compounds with variable composition. Humic substances can be divided into: humic acids (HA), fulvic acids (FA) and humins (Hu). In the presented research FA were studied. They were extracted from the effluent in the process of ion exchange in a hydrophobic ion exchanger and then they were examined by qualitative analysis to determine the elemental composition of acids and the degree of contamination with heavy metals and other substances. The main aim was to balance and assess the amount of FA in the primary and secondary effluent. The studies have shown that concentration of FA in raw wastewater (primary effluent) was bigger than in the treated wastewater (secondary effluent). Based on the research, it can be stated that selected WWTP discharges less FA compared to the input pollution load.
Highlights
Humic substances (HS) are formed by humification of animal and plant remains substances, such as lignin, proteins, pectins, polysaccharides, and others
Researches [3,4,5] confirm that the elemental compositions of different fulvic acids (FA) and humic acids (HA) have the following major elements in their structure: C, H, N, O and S and this is always present regardless of their origin, country or continent
Some authors consider that wastewater treatment plants can be a source of humic acids in surface waters
Summary
Humic substances (HS) are formed by humification of animal and plant remains substances, such as lignin, proteins, pectins, polysaccharides, and others They are the most widely spread natural complexing ligands occurring in nature [1]. HS are macromolecular compounds with a very complex and heterogeneous structure [2] In natural conditions, these substances are differentiated in terms of construction which results from the different degrees of decay. HS are usually a mixture of organic compounds of an acidic nature and closer to the unknown structure. These substances have been known for hundred years, but their structural composition has not yet been recognized. Some authors consider that wastewater treatment plants can be a source of humic acids in surface waters. According to Pempkowiak the amount of humic substances in the treated wastewater may depend on the size of the treatment plant, the composition of raw wastewater and technology [7]
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