EFFICIENCY OF DIETHYLAMINOETHYL CELLULOSE IN THE ISOLATION OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC-MATTER FROM FOREST SOIL SOLUTIONS

Diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DEAE cellulose), a weak anion exchange re sin, has been used to isolate dissolved organic matter (DOM) from soil solutions collected from three different soil types, to investigate t he amount of DOM isolated from soil solutions of various origin, and t he extent to which inorganic ions are isolated together with DOM. The concentration of DOM in the various soil solutions ranged from 2.5 to 32.8 mg.L-1 DOC. More than 80% of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was u sually isolated with DEAE cellulose. High concentrations of aluminum ( Al) and sulfate (SO42-) in the soil solutions have reduced DOC recover y. More than 90% of potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), and magnesium (Mg2 +), were removed during the isolation procedure, but 10 to 20% of Al a nd 30 to 40% of iron (Fe) were isolated together with the DOC, probabl y due to strong complexation to DOM. The advantages of using DEAE cell ulose were that the use of strong acids and bases was limited and that pH adjustments of the sample, leading to chemical modification of DOM , was not required.