Comparative characterisation of two fulvic acids from East Lake and Liangzi Lake in central China

Environmental context Fulvic acids account for a large proportion of dissolved organic matter in aquatic environments and affect the transportation and bioavailability of organic and inorganic pollutants. The structural and spectroscopic characteristics of fulvic acids mainly depend on the sources, seasons and anthropogenic activity. We present an advanced approach using fluorescence spectroscopy as a rapid and cost-effective method to investigate the composition, properties and origins of fulvic acids. Abstract Fulvic acids (FAs) isolated seasonally from the sediments of East Lake and Liangzi Lake in central China were comparatively investigated. The structural features of the FAs were characterised using chemical and spectroscopic methods, including elemental analysis, UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and three-dimensional excitation emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy coupled with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). The O/C, (O + N)/C and C/N ratios of FA extracted from Liangzi Lake (FAL) were higher than those of FA extracted from East Lake (FAE), indicating higher oxygen-containing functionality and polarity and less nutrient in FAL compared with FAE. The two FAs had similar UV-Vis spectra with different absorbance intensities. The FT-IR spectra showed that the two FAs had similar functional groups. The total fluorescence intensity and aromaticity of samples from Liangzi Lake were higher than those of East Lake except for those taken in the summer. The two FAs were largely terrestrially derived organic materials. Five fluorescent components, including four humic-like and two fulvic-like components, were identified by PARAFAC modelling of the EEM spectral data. The fluorescence was dominated by two components. The findings suggest that EEM fluorescence spectroscopy together with PARAFAC is a rapid and cost-effective method for understanding the characteristics and origins of FAs in natural water systems.