Nitrogen and it’s nutrient management

Nitrogen, or N as it is known in science, is a colorless and odorless element. Nitrogen can be found in the soil beneath our feet, as well as the water we drink and the air we breathe. In fact, nitrogen is the most prevalent element in the Earth’s atmosphere, accounting for almost 78 percent of the total! All living things, including humans, require nitrogen. It is essential for plant growth: without it, plants cannot survive, resulting in minimal food yields; nevertheless, too much nitrogen can be hazardous to plants. While nitrogen is required for our food supply, too much nitrogen can be harmful to the ecosystem.

Definition: 

N₂ is a nonmetallic element that makes up nearly four-fifths of the air by volume, and is found in various minerals and all proteins as a colorless, odorless, almost inert diatomic gas. It is used in a wide range of applications, including the manufacture of ammonia, nitric acid, TNT, and fertilizer’s, as well as a cryogen. Atomic number 7; atomic weight 14.0067; melting point 210.00°C; boiling point 195.80°C; valence 2, 3, 4, 5; melting point 210.00°C; boiling point 195.80°C; valence 2, 3, 4, 5; valence 2, 3, 4, 5; valence 2, 3, 4, 5; valence 2, 3, 4, 5.

What is nitrogen:

Nitrogen is a naturally occurring element that is required for plant and animal growth and reproduction. Amino acids, which make up proteins, nucleic acids, which make up the hereditary material and life’s blueprint for all cells, and a variety of other organic and inorganic molecules all contain it. Furthermore, nitrogen makes up around 80% of the Earth’s atmosphere.

The forms of nitrogen:

Understanding how nitrogen reacts chemically in the environment will help you comprehend the complexities of nitrogen loading to coastal waters. Nitrogen is a chemical element that can interact with other elements to form a variety of compounds. Nitrogen gas, for example, is a substance formed when two nitrogen atoms create a chemical connection. It makes up roughly 80% of the atmosphere, with oxygen gas, O₂, accounting for just under 20%. As a result, nitrogen gas is quite prevalent and abundant. Only a specialist type of bacteria, as well as the production of industrial fertilizers , can “fix” this mostly inert molecule into biologically active nitrogen compounds. In terms of making N₂ available to the biosphere, fertilizer production now outnumbers natural nitrogen fixation.

Nitrogen in living things:

Amino acids and urea both contain nitrogen. All proteins are made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks. Proteins include not just structural components like muscle, tissue, and organs, but also enzymes and hormones that are required for all living organisms to function properly. Protein digestion produces urea as a byproduct. The term “organic nitrogen” refers to a nitrogen molecule that originated in living matter. Protein and urea both contain organic nitrogen. Organic nitrogen can enter septic systems from body waste, leftover food, or cleaning chemical components.

Ammonification:

Many nitrogen transformations are mediated by bacteria, which utilize various types of nitrogen to fuel various metabolic processes. The nitrogen in proteins is eventually converted to ammonia (NH₃) or ammonium (NH₄⁺) during the breakdown process by some bacteria. Ammonification is the term for these processes. In leachate, nitrogen predominantly leaves the septic tank as ammonium. Some of the ammonium is adsorbed to soil particles and effectively immobilized , preventing it from being transported further.

Nitrification:

Ammonia is converted to nitrite by other microorganisms. Other bacteria can convert nitrite to nitrate, as well. Nitrification is the name for these processes. The process of nitrification is an aerobic one. As a result, nitrification can only take place in the presence of oxygen. In aerobic leaching field soils, septic tank ammonium that escapes adsorption is subjected to nitrification.

Denitrification:

Other bacterial species can use nitrate and convert it to nitrogen gas through a process known as denitrification. The process of denitrification is anaerobic. This means it only happens when there is no oxygen or when oxygen concentrations are exceedingly low. Denitrification also necessitates the presence of a carbon source. As it travels to the estuary, some of the nitrate escaping the leaching field soils gets denitrified in the unconsolidated soils and groundwater. The amount of nitrogen lost in this manner is a hot topic of research right now. 

Simplified nitrogen cycle:

In summary, nitrogen cycles through the air, water, and soils, with specific bacteria mediating many of the conversions. Some of these changes require aerobic settings, whereas others can only happen in anaerobic environments. To lower the amount of nitrogen in the effluent, the finest wastewater disposal systems take advantage of these bacteria’s metabolic needs.

Abundant element on earth:

The Earth was formed from the same cloud of matter that gave rise to the Sun, but the planets developed various compositions as the solar system originated and evolved. As a result of the Earth’s natural history, different portions of the world contain different concentrations of the elements.

The Earth’s mass is estimated to be 5.97 X 10²⁴ kg. It is largely made up of iron (32.1%), oxygen (30.1%), silicon (15.1%), magnesium (13.9%), sulfur (2.9%), nickel (1.8%), calcium (1.5%), and aluminum  (1.4%) in bulk, with the remaining 1.2 percent made up of trace amounts of other elements .

Crust:

The mass-abundance of the nine most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust is roughly 46 percent oxygen, 28 percent silicon, 8.3 percent aluminum, 5.6 percent iron, 4.2 percent calcium, 2.5 percent sodium, 2.4 percent magnesium, 2.0 percent potassium, and 0.61 percent titanium. Other elements make up less than 0.15 percent of the total. See Abundance of elements in Earth’s Crust for a complete list.

Mantle:

The following are the mass abundances of the eight most abundant elements in the Earth’s mantle (see main article above): oxygen 45 percent, magnesium 23 percent, silicon 22 percent, iron 5.8 percent, calcium 2.3 percent, aluminum  2.2 percent, sodium 0.3 percent, potassium 0.3 percent.

Component of amino acid:

Amino acids are chemical molecules that contain the functional groups amino (-NH₃⁺) and carboxylate (-CO₂⁻), as well as a side chain (R group) unique to each amino acid. Carbon ©, hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), and nitrogen (N) are present in every amino acid; sulfur (S) is found in the side chains of cysteine and methionine, and selenium (Se) is present in the less common amino acid selenocysteine. As of 2020, more than 500 naturally occurring amino acids have been identified as monomer components of peptides, including proteins (though only 20 appear in the genetic code, plus selenocysteine, which is encoded in a special way).

The IUPAC-IUBMB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature names amino acids in terms of the hypothetical “neutral” structure depicted in the picture. The systematic term for alanine, for example, is 2-aminopropanoic acid, which has the formula CH₃-CH(NH₂)-COOH.

Conclusion:

Bacteria and fungi aid in the decomposition of organic matter at the end of the nitrogen cycle, where the nitrogenous chemicals are dissolved into the soil and utilised by plants anew. The nitrogenous molecules in the soil are then converted to nitrogen gas by microorganisms. It eventually returns to the atmosphere.