The traditionally accepted definition of humic acid, fulvic acid and humin is much like defining
common table salt as “the remaining solids left over from the evaporation of seawater”. One would say
that the remaining material after evaporation is operationally defined instead of calling it what it really is;
sea salt, a mixture of numerous minerals along with sodium chloride. Common table salt, by the way,
contains sodium chloride along with other chemical additives, such as sodium alumino-silicate, to help it
flow out of a salt shaker.