Extraction of Organic Matter from Soils by means of Ultrasonic Dispersion in Aqueous Acetylacetone

Abstract

THE extraction of organic matter from soils^1–4 in a form suitable for chemical examination requires a reagent in which the organic material is largely unaltered, uncontaminated with extraneous ions or compounds, and capable of ready purification. Martin and Reeve^5,6 found that acetylacetone was an effective extractant of organic matter from B horizons of podzol soils. Recent experiments have shown that the amounts of organic matter extracted in boiling anhydrous formic acid increase with addition of metal complexing agents such as hydrofluoric acid and acetylacetone⁷. The present investigation was begun to explore further the use of acetylacetone as a suitable extractant of organic matter, particularly the organic phosphorus component in soils.