Purification of soluble fulvic acid low concentrations by a diafiltration technique.

The purification of soluble fulvic acids (FA) based on a diafiltration technique is carried out on antarctic water and snow samples, characterised by low humic compound content (0.1-0.8 mg/l). Results are compared with those of FA purified with the dialysis technique that, together with ion-exchange resins, performs an often used purification process. With the adopted procedure it is possible to minimise the high content of inorganic salts deriving in part from the isolation method XAD-8 adopted, as shown by FTIR, elemental and thermogravimetric analysis.