Retention behavior of humic substances in reversed phase HPLC

Recovery as well as appearance and abundance (in percent) of different fractions of humic substances are found to depend on injected sample amounts in reversed phase HPLC. Sample amounts have been varied both by varying sample concentration and sample volume. In case of lowest amounts injected only two fractions were obtained for a commercial humic acid sodium salt, i.e. one for excluded molecules and one for hydrophobic components. The abundance of excluded molecules decreases upon increasing amounts injected. Another three fractions are obtained upon increasing amount injected: a hydrophilic fraction and two hydrophobic ones. This behavior is explained by auxiliary equilibria between excluded components and humic molecules previously adsorbed on the stationary phase.