Characterisation of humic substances by acid catalysed transesterification

Abstract The chemical composition of low molecular weight moieties linked to the core structures of humic substances (HS) are of substantial importance for the understanding of the chemical structures and mode of interactions of HS with other substances in the environment. In this study a novel approach to characterise certain low molecular weight compounds bound to HS is suggested. The method includes transesterification (TE) of ester and amide bound structures, and esterification (E) of free carboxylic groups using acid catalysed methanolysis followed by gas chromatography (GC)–mass spectrometry (MS) and GC-FID analysis. Methanolysis of five HS of different origin, demonstrated the presen…