Re: Humic Acid
Humic acid is a condensed, refractive mixture of aromatic organic acids.
It is complex and variable and has not been characterized (as far as I
know) to any degree (except perhaps for some of the many functional
groups). Humic acid contains Sulfur, Nitrogen and Phosphorus in varying
amounts. It also contains metals such as Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn etc. which can be
'chelated' in some undefined way. Humic acid can be broken down into two
groups based on the polarity and size of the individual 'compounds'. The
smaller, more polar fraction is generally termed fulvic acid and the
larger, more nonpolar fraction is generally termed humic acid.
Humic acids are the endproduct of microbial degradation of plant and animal
debris and are one of the most important constituents of fertile soils.