Estudio para la obtención de ácido húmico por hidrólisis ácida de humus de lombriz utilizando ácido sulfúrico, para la industria de la curtiembre.

Abstract

The objective of this degree work, was to obtain humic acid from earthworm humus with characteristics to tan skins, began with the determination of the percentage of humic acid present in the fertilizer to be used, in which 67% was obtained according to In addition to this, the laboratory of quality Laboratories Testiag & Consultiag, in addition to this, was the physical-chemical and biological characterization of the raw material based on the NTE INEN 211 standard in which most of the parameters were within the range that governs the standard. Laboratory tests were carried out to determine the dosage of reagents and raw material in order to obtain higher performance in the process of extraction of humic acid, the best result achieved by combining 15 g of hummus with 150 ml of a solution of 0,2 M potassium hydroxide in the alkaline hydrolysis stage, and 17 ml of a 3 M sulfuric acid solution in the acid hydrolysis stage. With the best formulation, it was performed a pilot-scale test. Finally, once it obtained the humic acid, the infrared spectroscopy analysis was carried out in which it produced different absorption peaks of the various functional groups present in the humic acid and to compare if the results resemble the values of tanning agents that are commonly used in the tannery industry it was compared with the values of the absorption peaks of commercial humic acid, chrome sulphate and tare, in which it was possible to verify that the benefits are similar and are within the ranges of the established bands, besides, the pH was measured to verify that the humic acid obtained is within the range of 2.5-3, since it is ideal for use in the tannery industry. It is recommended to perform tests on different types of skins to verify its actual effectiveness as a tanning agent.