Unique in its molecular approach and multidisciplinary in nature, this book will have broad appeal to researchers and postgraduates with an interest in this complex area.

What is Humic Acid? A Perspective of the Past Forty Years; Abiotic Catalytic Humification of Organic Matter in Olive Oil Mill Wastewaters; Use of 13C NMR and FTIR for Elucidation of Degradation Pathways during Senescence and Litter Decomposition of Aspen Leaves; A Biogeopolymeric View of Humic Substances with Application to Paramagnetic Metal Effects on 13C NMR; Evaluation of Different Solid-state 13C NMR Techniques for Characterizing Humic Acids; NMR Evidence for Crystalline Domains in Humic Substances; Changes of Colloidal State in Aqueous Systems of Humic Acids; Humic Acid Pseudomicelles in Dilute Aqueous Solution: Fluorescence and Surface Tension Measurements; Atomic Force Microscopy of pH, Ionic Strength and Cadmium Effects on Surface Features of Humic Acid; Molecular Size Distribution of Humic Substances: A Comparison between Size Exclusion Chromatography and Capillary Electrophoresis; Characterization of Humic Acids by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry; MALDI-TOF-MS Analysis of Humic Substances - A New Approach to Obtain Additional Structural Information?; Laser Spectroscopy of Humic Substances; Comprehensive Study of UV Absorption and Fluorescence Spectra of Suwannee River NOM Fractions; Fluorescence Behaviour of Molecular Size Fractions of Suwannee River Water. The Effect of Photo-oxidation; Changes in Chemical Composition, FTIR and Fluorescence Spectral Characteristics of Humic Acids in Peat Profiles; Chromatographic Separation of Fluorescent Substances from Humic Acids; A Study of Non-uniformity of Metal-binding Sites in Humic Substances by X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy; Application of High Performance Size Exclusion Chromatography (HPSEC) with Detection by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) for the Study of Metal Complexation Properties of Soil Derived Humic Acid Molecular Fractions; Interaction of Organic Chemicals (PAHs, PCBs, Triazines, Nitroaromatics and Organotin Compounds) with Dissolved Humic Organic Matter; Humasorb-CSTM: A Humic Acid-based Adsorbent to Remove Organic and Inorganic Contaminants; Stimulation of Plant Growth by Humic Substances: Effects of Iron Availability; Using Activated Humic Acids in Detoxification of Soils Contaminated with Polychlorinated Biphenyls. Tests Conducted in the City of Serpukhov, Russia; Subject Index.