Abstract
Sapropel is natural aqueous lake-deposit and covers a great variety of bottom lacustrine deposit which contains not less than 15% of organic substances in the dry residue. One of the organic substances is a humic acid. The mineral compounds of sapropel in lakes participate in biological process, and transform during oxidizing and reductive reactions.
Basic characteristics of humic acid extracted from sapropel (Belarussian) and peats (Indonesian tropical peat and Canadian peat moss) were compared. Humic acid extracted from sapropel contains much aromatics in the structure and high ash content. As for the functional group, humic acid from sapropel has higher quantity of phenolic hydroxyl group. Sapropel also contains high quantity of K,P and N and is the most prospective for using as fertilizer for poor land. As the results of greening test at UAE desert, sapropel showed a high performance as a fertilizer than blank.
Authors are planning to evaluate a lake-deposit in Japan with sapropel and to study the possibility of using it as a fertilizer.
