The difference between mineral potassium fulvate and biochemical potassium fulvate

Both mineral potassium fulvate and biochemical potassium fulvate have "fulvic acid" in their names, so what is fulvic acid?

Fuvic acid is a substance extracted from humic acid, and is one of the most essential and active components of humic acid.

So what is humic acid? In fact, just like the formation of coal, humic acid is an organic fertilizer formed by the decomposition and transformation of the remains of plants and animals billions of years ago, and it is mostly found in soil, minerals, etc. However, its molecules are large, and most of them chelate metal ions in the soil, so it cannot be dissolved in water, and there are many inconveniences in using it in crop fertilization. The fulvic acid extracted from humic acid can be dissolved in water, and its molecules are small and highly active. It can chelate various trace elements, and it has the effect of dissolving phosphorus and potassium, which is very suitable for use in crop fertilization.

Mineral potassium humate and biochemical potassium humate, these two types of potassium humate have many differences, which can be summarized from several aspects such as function, appearance, composition, and source.

1. Different appearance

The yellow one on the right is biochemical potassium fulvate, which is more common on the market. The black one on the left is mineral potassium fulvate, which is available in powder, tablets, granules, etc. The one in the picture is flake.

2. Different sources

Why is mineral potassium fulvate black, not yellow? Although mineral potassium fulvate is humic acid, its appearance must be black because its raw materials are mainly peat, lignite, and weathered coal.

1. Peat is protected by the state, has too high a moisture content, and has too high a production cost. Therefore, although it contains a very high content of humic acid, it is almost not used as a raw material for mineral potassium humate;

2. Lignite is currently a good enough raw material for producing mineral potassium humate. The mineral potassium humate it produces is also called primary humic acid;

3. Weathered coal is lignite that has changed over a long period of time to form bituminous coal or anthracite. Bituminous coal and anthracite are formed after weathering. In this process, weathered coal belongs to regenerated humic acid.

4. The raw materials of biochemical potassium fulvate are: straw, sugarcane residue, and sawdust. According to its source, the colors of all biochemical potassium fulvate are mainly yellow-brown, dark brown, and brown.

3. Different physical properties

Mineral potassium fulvate is black in appearance and has no smell, while biochemical potassium fulvate is mostly brown or brownish yellow in color, and emits a sour or coffee smell, which is the most obvious sign to distinguish mineral potassium fulvate from biochemical potassium fulvate.

4. Different ingredients

The main components of mineral potassium fulvate: phenolic acid, fatty acid, benzene polycarboxylic acid, all of which belong to macromolecular structures and are very stable. Therefore, mineral potassium fulvate will not expire.

The molecular weight of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, alcohols, proteins, sugars, phenolic acid, fatty acids and other structures in biochemical fulvic acid is relatively small, and it is extremely easy to denature. For example, proteins will decompose, polysaccharides or alcohols will denature, etc., so this structure is relatively unstable.