Modification of pollutant hydrolysis kinetics in the presence of humic substances

The kinetics of hydrolysis of the 1-octyl ester of (2,4-dichlorophenoxy) acetic acid (2,4-DOE) in distilled water were defined, and the results were then compared with those obtained for the same compound in solutions of humic substances from various sources. Graphs and tables are used to present the findings, which suggest that in the presence of humic substances there is a decrease in the alkaline hydrolysis rate constant, which correlates to the fraction of the ester associated with the humic substances. A bibliography of 16 references is appended.