Industrial Applications of Lignite Humic Acid: Structure, Properties and Consequence for Utilization

Prompted by the need of non-petroleum-based fuels, coal research has reemerged to center stage after a length dormant period. Low-rank coal derived humic acid research, in particular, has gained considerable momentum because of its close connection to various industrial utilizations in field of textile printing and agriculture. Spectroscopic and other advanced instrumental techniques are currently producing prodigious information about this supra-molecular structure, while modeling efforts are breaking new ground in sorting out chemical and physical phenomena to provide fundamental although simple description. This monograph was written to organize recent detailed research data obtained from pyrolysis and solid 13C NMR spectroscopy techniques for low-rank derived humic acid and its valuable industrial derivatives for utilization in field of textile and agriculture. With this orientation the monograph should be useful to chemists, engineers and graduate students with interest in coal derived chemicals research. I would like to thank Dr. Jiri Kucerik and Dr. Marc Marshall for helping while preparing this valuable manuscript.