Chemical Nature of Organic Color in Water

Abstract

The primary objectives of this study were to investigate the chemical structures of color molecules, the similarity of colored waters from different sources, and the environmental factors involved in the production of color. Oxidation with alkaline‐CuO was found to be an effective method of degrading the complex color molecule to recognizable chemical structures. Evaluation of the effect of the oxidation technique on model compounds, coupled with the knowledge of seven color degradation products, resulted in the proposal of a hypothetic structural formula for color‐producing molecules in water. Further experiments revealed a close similarity between the degradation products of color solids and the water‐soluble organic components of wood and soil.