The authors have simultaneously published the above figure and related content in the article titled “Al-Akbari, R., Mansaray, A. D., & Nassar, N. N. (2024). Production of humic and fulvic acid analogs through the ultrasonication of low-rank lignite coals. Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, 9(3), 566-582.” and the patent entitled “Ultrasonic reaction for high-yield production of humic acids from coal-lignite oxidized coals, and residual feedstocks” with the international publication number WO 2023/010210 A1. Based on my understanding, the patent was published first, and hence, the authors should have properly cited the original document, i.e., the patent, in the Reaction Chemistry & Engineering article, regardless of the fact the both belong to the same group of authors. I understand that many researchers around the world might make the same mistake simply because they are not aware of the elements of the copyright law, and so one. In this particular case, it is highly advisable to issue an “Erratum” for the Reaction Chemistry & Engineering article and fix this oversight.
