• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.429-439
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• 1999

Potentiometric titration data were collected for some humic acids purified from Korean upland and paddy soils over a range of pH (3.0 - 11.0) with $NaNO_3$ background electrolyte concentrations (0.01, 0.10, 0.50 and 1.00 M). The data were applied to model A and V which included both intrinsic heterogeneity of humic materials and electrostatic interaction influences on binding sites. The elemental analysis were conducted for various type of humic samples. The $E_4/E_6$ ratio proposed negative correlation with the total carboxyl groups ($r^2$= 0.9988). The charge ($cmol_c\;kg^{-1}$) on the humic acids became more negative as the ionic strength increased. In both continuous and batch titrations, the ionic strength effect was greater in Namweon series (pH 6.39) than others at pH 5.00. The effect of ionic strength on surface charge appears to be greater in batch titrations. This could suggest that continuous titrations do not represent an equilibrium state and the effects of electrolyte concentration was not fully realized during the course of titrations. Both models described experimental data obtained from continuous and batch titrations well over a range of ionic strengths. Model A is more simpler than model V but adaptes more fitted parameters. Thus, the observed change in apparent binding constants with surface charge is regarded solely due to electrostatic influences rather than functional group heterogeneity. However, Model V is more mechanistically realistic in a number of discrete ligand binding sites.