Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Organic matter, organic material, or natural organic matter refers to the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have come from the feces and remains of organisms such as plants and animals . [ 1 ]
Particulate organic matter (POM) is a fraction of total organic matter operationally defined as that which does not pass through a filter pore size that typically ranges in size from 0.053 millimeters (53 μm) to 2 millimeters. [3] Particulate organic carbon (POC) is a closely related term often used interchangeably with POM. POC refers ...
A portion of organic matter is not mineralized and instead decomposed into stable organic matter that is denominated "humus". [1] The decomposition of organic compounds occurs at very different rates, depending on the nature of the compound. The ranking, from fast to slow rates, is: Sugars, starches, and simple proteins; Proteins ...
Synthetic organic chemistry is an applied science as it borders engineering, the "design, analysis, and/or construction of works for practical purposes". [28] Organic synthesis of a novel compound is a problem-solving task, where a synthesis is designed for a target molecule by selecting optimal reactions from optimal starting materials.
Dissolved organic matter is a heterogeneous pool of thousands, likely millions, of organic compounds. These compounds differ not only in composition and concentration (from pM to μM), but also originate from various organisms (phytoplankton, zooplankton, and bacteria) and environments (terrestrial vegetation and soils, coastal fringe ...
An organic compound is any compound containing carbon, aside from some simple ones discovered before 1828. There are three classes of organic mineral: hydrocarbons (containing just hydrogen and carbon), salts of organic acids, and miscellaneous. Organic minerals are rare, and tend to have specialized settings such as fossilized cacti and bat ...
Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. [a] [2] It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradation occurs under a specific set of circumstances.
For example, carbon-containing compounds such as alkanes (e.g. methane CH 4) and its derivatives are universally considered organic, but many others are sometimes considered inorganic, such as halides of carbon without carbon-hydrogen and carbon-carbon bonds (e.g. carbon tetrachloride CCl 4), and certain compounds of carbon with nitrogen and ...