IHSS&IWA26 / BRNO / CZECHIA / 23–28 August 2026 BOOK OF ABSTRACTS 4 PL Supramolecular Structure of NOM and EfOM: Analytical Evidence Martha J. M. Wells1 1 EnviroChem Services, 2613 Cherington Drive, Auburn, Alabama, USA 36832 info@envirochemservices.net or mjmwells@tntech.edu During the past quarter century, conceptualization of the supramolecular structure of fulvic and humic acids in soil science has developed, championed by the pioneering and ongoing research of Piccolo [1–3]. Advances in analytical instrumentation and techniques have likewise driven the quest for better understanding of the architecture of aquatic natural organic matter (NOM) and not-so-natural effluent organic matter (EfOM). The supramolecular view of aquatic OM aggregates was expanded to a conceptual model [4–5] of a dual metachemical—physical hydrogel structure arranged in a hierarchical “supramolecular within supramolecular” self-assembling architecture in which metachemical hydrogels (≤1 μm diameter) are corralled within a dispersible physical hydrogel scaffold (>1 μm diameter). Moderate and strong H-bonding in addition to weak H-bonds, van der Waals forces, entanglement, and metal bridging are proposed to participate in supramolecular, self-assembled aggregation. The dispersible physical hydrogel scaffold was observed to form, dissipate, and spontaneously reform over turbulent/ quiescent cycles (shearing) indicating reversible and reproducible abiotic self-assembly. Beyond the existence of the supramolecular character of humic substances, interest in understanding its significance and the purpose for which OM evolved in nature to provide essential functions in soil and water environments, is growing. In EfOM, “nonliving” organic carbon, comprised of plant and animal detritus, waste materials, and pollutants, exists in a myriad of forms—diagenetic (“long dead” degraded and rearranged fulvic and humic acids), biogenic (“recently dead or excreted” extracellular hydrophilic acids, amino acids, proteins, sugars, polysaccharides, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids), and anthropogenic (“synthetic” pesticides, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), macro-, micro- and nanoplastics, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), etc.). Diagenetic, biogenic, and anthropogenic compounds commingle as supramolecular, macromolecular, and molecular forms, thereby affecting removal by water treatment processes [6, 7]. Empirical data from studies using flow field-flow fractionation (flFFF) [8],
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