Aqueous Solutions of Humic Acids as Self-Organizing Dissipative Systems

The paper investigates the size, morphology and zeta-potential of particles, electrical conduction, and surface tension of aqueous solutions of humic acids as a function of their concentration, pH and time using the methods of dynamic and electrophoretic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy and tensiometry. It is shown that aqueous solutions of humic acids represent open non-equilibrium systems with complex multilevel space-time self-organization. The critical concentrations reflecting the transition from one state into another have been also established.