Filter cake is a valuable by-product generated during the process of making sugar from sugarcane in factories. The purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of different basic solutions on humic acid extractio n rate. Chemical and spectroscopic characterization of humic acids extracted from filter cake has also been investigated. In this research, extraction and chemistry of humic acid have been studied in two separate experiments. In the first experiment, humic acid was taken from filter cake using the IHSS reference method in three concentrations (0.5 M, 1 M and 2 M) of KOH and two preparation liquids (water and vinasses) in the laboratory of the School of Environ - mental Sciences at the University of Guelph. Changes in the extraction rate of humic acid with type and concen - tration of base solution also were studied. In the second experiment , Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and 13 C NMR were used to examine the chemistry of humic acid extracted from filte r cake by 0.5 M KOH solutions (pre- pared using distilled water and vinasse). The results indi - cate that the highest extraction rate of humic acid was obtained when the 2 M KOH made from vinasse s olution was used. Element a l analysis results, FTIR and NMR analyses as well as the E4/E6 ratio showed that all samples

Keywords