Nitrogen

Nitrogen Latest News

India, the world’s second-largest emitter of N₂O after China, faces climate risks as N₂O has 300 times the global warming potential of CO₂.

About Nitrogen

• Nitrogen is the most abundant atmospheric gas, constituting ~78% of Earth’s atmosphere.
• Nitrogen is vital for forming DNA, ATP (cellular energy currency), proteins, chlorophyll, and acts as a neurotransmitter via nitric oxide (NO).

Nitrogen Cycle: Natural Balancing Act

• Atmospheric nitrogen (N₂) is inert and unusable by plants or animals.
• Plants rely on diazotrophs (N-fixing bacteria) through symbiotic association (e.g., in legumes).
• Nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia into nitrites (NO₂⁻) and then nitrates (NO₃⁻) – the form plants can absorb.
  • Nitrification: Ammonia → Nitrites → Nitrates (plant-usable form).
• Denitrification returns excess nitrates back to the atmosphere, maintaining the natural nitrogen cycle.

Haber-Bosch Process

• Developed in the early 20th century, allowed industrial fixation of nitrogen to produce ammonia.
• Uses fossil fuels, high heat and pressure, and an iron catalyst.
• Enabled synthetic fertiliser revolution → contributed to Green Revolution and exponential population growth.

Environmental Risks of Excess Nitrogen (Latent Time-Bomb)

• Reactive nitrogen (ammonia, nitrate, nitrous oxide) is now overproduced through chemical fertilisers.
• 80% of applied nitrogen is lost to the environment via leaching and emissions, causing:
  • Eutrophication of water bodies → Algal blooms, Dead Zones (e.g., Gulf of Mexico).
  • Soil acidification and air pollution from NOx emissions.
  • Formation of ground-level ozone and acid rain.
  • N₂O (Nitrous oxide) is now the third most potent greenhouse gas after CO₂ and CH₄.

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