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Abstract
The effect of three inorganic minerals on the humification of three types of plant residues was determined by employing a model thermal incubation experiment. The plant residues consisiting of rice (Oryza sativa) straw, broadleaf tree (a mixture of oak/beech, Quercus serrata, Q. dentata, Q. acutissima etc.) sawdust and Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) sawdust were each mixed with Fe, Mn and Al in the form of hydroxides, oxides and sulfates. Humic materials were extracted after incubation and their composition was analyzed using a mixed solution of 0.02 M Na4P2O7 and 0.1 M NaOH. The pH values of the samples after a longer duration of the incubation period were all less than 5.0, with the lowest value of 2.16 for a sample incubated with Al2(SO4)3, except for the values of the samples incubated with MnO2, which ranged from 4.75 to 6.0. The ΔlogK values decreased with the increase of the duration of the incubation period, whereas the RF values increased, as well as the amount of humus extracted (HE) and percentage of humic acid (PQ). Whereas most of the samples were identified as Type B and Type Rp humic acids, Type A humic acid was formed in all the plant residues incubated with Al2(SO4)3, FeO(OH) and MnO2 after ⩽180 d of incubation period. Moreover, the degree of humification of the plant residues was observed in the order of broadleaf tree > rice straw > Japanese cedar. It can be concluded that the inorganic compounds Al2(SO4)3, FeO(OH) and MnO2 contributed to the acceleration of the humification process of plant residues during the thermal incubation. The effect of Al2(SO4)3 may be associated with the increase in the reactivity with other components in the system due to its high solubility, whereas FeO(OH) and MnO2 may be involved in a reduction-oxidation reaction during the incubation. The browning and/or blackening of the plant residues were similar to the production of melanoidin which led us to consider that the mechanism involved in the study was similar to that of the Maillard reaction.