What are Humic Substances and How Do They Help with Climate Control by Sequestering Carbon?
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- Definition of Humic Substances
- Humic Substances Properties
- Humic Structures and Reactions
- How do Humics Remain stable?
- HAs for Soil Enhancement, Water Treatment, Recycling and Carbon Sequestration
- How HA Production from Bio-Waste and Coals helps in Repairing Impaired Lands and Arid Areas while Sequestering Carbon
- How to Calculate Carbon Sequestration Potential from Applications of Humic Substances
- Bibliography
- References
- Additional Reading
HAs for Soil enhancement, Water Treatment, Recycling and Carbon Sequestration
Plants and coals are the products of photosynthesis. The carbon they contain once was CO2 in the air. Burning plant bio-waste or coal returns the CO2 to the air and defeats attempts at carbon sequestration as a remedy for global warming.
On the other hand, conversion of bio-waste and low rank coal to HAs retains the carbon they contain while at the same time providing materials with truly remarkable properties.
Plants need air, water, and soil to grow, and the soil they need contains HAs that:
- Create and maintain soil structure
- Retain water
- Bind and release plant nutrients
- Sequester toxic metals and other contaminants
- Serve as a matix for soil chemical and biochemical reaction
Because they are multifunctional materials, synthetic solid HAs have the ability to remove both inorganic and organic contaminants from wastewater. This approach is being used to decontaminate and recycle wastewater for agricultural use in several countries where the only alternative is a lifeless drought.
Bio-waste composting and conversion of coals to humic substances keeps the carbon produced by photosynthesis on the land instead of as a greenhouse gas in the air. A sensible approach to climate control is an increased, worldwide emphasis on composting and coal conversion in parallel with the development of alternative sources of energy.