Modification of the weak nitric acid digestion method for the quantification of black carbon in organic matrices

Published Date
Organic Geochemistry
January 2017, Vol.103:136–139, doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2016.10.010

Note

Author 

Bernardo Maestrini ^,

Jessica R. Miesel

Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Rd, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA

Received 1 August 2016. Revised 11 October 2016. Accepted 13 October 2016. Available online 19 October 2016. Associate Editor—Philip A. Meyers

Abstract

The weak nitric acid digestion method (also known as KMD) is a method to quantify black carbon (BC) in mineral soil. Here we extended the use of this methodology from mineral samples to organic matrices. We tested this methodology on known mixtures of pyrolyzed pine wood and needles (at 300 °C and 550 °C) and non-pyrolyzed pine needles and measured: (1) the fraction of pyrolyzed material identified as BC by the methodology, (2) the fraction of non-pyrolyzed pine needles identified as BC, and (3) the precision of the method. We found that the fraction of pyrolyzed-C identified as BC ranges from 10% (needles at 300 °C) to 90% (wood at 550 °C), indicating that the weak nitric acid digestion method can be extended to measure BC in organic matrices and that the methodology can be used in studies aimed to quantify BC stocks in post-fire environments.

Keywords

Black carbon

Pyrogenic carbon

Organic matter

Forest floor

Charcoal

KMD

Weak nitric acid digestion

---

 Table 1

Table 1.

Fig. 1.

• ⁎ 
  Corresponding author.

For further details log on website :
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0146638016302698?_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_origin=gateway&_docanchor=&md5=b8429449ccfc9c30159a5f9aeaa92ffb