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Is Composting A Natural Fertilizer?

Decent Essays

The reason for the mass of that pile of leaves decay according to the laws of thermodynamics would be composting which is a natural way by which microorganisms break down organic material as a finished compost. The material for known as humus is very rich in nutrients and is used as a natural fertilizer. In aerobic respiration, cells oxidize organic compounds, obtaining the energy from the chemicals bonds which can later be converted to ATP. Then we have aerobic bacteria which is one of the most important organism in the composting process, breaking down organic material through aerobic respiration. In this case with leaves they are made up of cellulose which is made of glucose molecules.The vast majority of it will be converted into gases that are ventilated throughout the air. Some of the gases you would probably find would be from the compost pile which includes carbon dioxide and water. (Freudenrich , 2001) (Raven, Johnson, Mason, Losos, & Singer, 2013) B) What happens to the energy contained in those leaves? (hint: consider that leaves are mostly cellulose, which is a polymer of D-glucose, and composting is done by microorganism) The energy contained in those leaves start off with the First Law of Thermodynamics mentions that energy can’t be created or destroyed. It can though only be converted between different forms. Some of the energy will be used to perform the necessary work needed by the decomposers to the power the reactions that’s keeping them living and

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