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The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among atmospheric, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems. The conversion of nitrogen can be carried out through both biological and physical processes. Important processes in the nitrogen cycle include fixation ...
Nitrification. Nitrification is the biological oxidation of ammonia to nitrate via the intermediary nitrite. Nitrification is an important step in the nitrogen cycle in soil. The process of complete nitrification may occur through separate organisms [1] or entirely within one organism, as in comammox bacteria.
Approximately 78% of Earth's atmosphere is N gas (N 2), which is an inert compound and biologically unavailable to most organisms.In order to be utilized in most biological processes, N 2 must be converted to reactive nitrogen (Nr), which includes inorganic reduced forms (NH 3 and NH 4 +), inorganic oxidized forms (NO, NO 2, HNO 3, N 2 O, and NO 3 −), and organic compounds (urea, amines, and ...
Non-protein nitrogen. Non-protein nitrogen (or NPN) is a term used in animal nutrition to refer collectively to components such as urea, biuret, and ammonia, which are not proteins but can be converted into proteins by microbes in the ruminant stomach. Due to their lower cost compared to plant and animal proteins, their inclusion in a diet can ...
Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) occurs when atmospheric nitrogen is converted to ammonia by a nitrogenase enzyme. [1] The overall reaction for BNF is: N2 + 16ATP + 16H2O + 8e− + 8H+ → 2NH3 +H2 + 16ADP + 16Pi. The process is coupled to the hydrolysis of 16 equivalents of ATP and is accompanied by the co-formation of one equivalent of H.
The nitrogen cycle is of particular interest to ecologists because nitrogen availability can affect the rate of key ecosystem processes, including primary production and decomposition. Human activities such as fossil fuel combustion, use of artificial nitrogen fertilizers, and release of nitrogen in wastewater have dramatically altered the ...
The Haber process, [1] also called the Haber–Bosch process, is the main industrial procedure for the production of ammonia. [2][3] It converts atmospheric nitrogen (N 2) to ammonia (NH 3) by a reaction with hydrogen (H 2) using a finely divided iron metal catalyst: This reaction is slightly favorable in terms of enthalpy, but is disfavored in ...
Denitrification. Nitrogen cycle. Denitrification is a microbially facilitated process where nitrate (NO 3−) is reduced and ultimately produces molecular nitrogen (N 2) through a series of intermediate gaseous nitrogen oxide products. Facultative anaerobic bacteria perform denitrification as a type of respiration that reduces oxidized forms of ...