Heavy Metals Complexed with Humic Substances in Fresh Water

Abstract

Chemical speciation has become an important and challenging area in the geochemical, toxicological and environmental fields. Metal-humic complexes are typical and important species because humic and fulvic acids dominate naturally occurring organic matter in fresh water. This article describes the separation and determination of metal-humic complexes, with information about physicochemical forms of the complexes. Typical preconcentration techniques for characterizing aquatic humic substances are also reviewed briefly.