Abstract

The generation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from Nordic fulvic acid (FA) solution in the presence of goethite (α-FeOOH) was observed in FA–goethite interaction experiments at 25–80 °. CO₂ generation processes observed by gas cell infrared (IR) spectroscopy indicated two steps: the zeroth order slower CO₂ generation from FA solution commonly occurring in the heating experiments of the FA in the presence and absence of goethite (activation energy: 16–19 kJ mol^–1), and the first order faster CO₂ generation from FA solution with goethite (activation energy: 14 kJ mol^–1). This CO₂ generation from FA is possibly related to redox reactions between FA and goethite. In situ attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopic measurements indicated rapid increases with time in IR bands due to COOH and COO^– of FA on the goethite surface. These are considered to be due to adsorption of FA on the goethite surface possibly driven by electrostatic attraction between the positively charged goethite surface and negatively charged deprotonated carboxylates (COO^–) in FA. Changes in concentration of the FA adsorbed on the goethite surface were well reproduced by the second order reaction model giving an activation energy around 13 kJ mol^–1. This process was faster than the CO₂ generation and was not its rate-determining step. The CO₂ generation from FA solution with goethite is faster than the experimental thermal decoloration of stable structures of Nordic FA in our previous report possibly due to partial degradations of redox-sensitive labile structures in FA.

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