The Effect Of Nitrous Oxide On The Environment Of New Zealand And Agricultural Based Products

These compounds are taken up by plants as nutrients from the soil and converted into plant proteins (amino acids). Plant proteins become animal proteins when eaten and metabolized by herbivorous animals, and when carnivorous animals eat the herbivorous. These proteins return to the soil through animal excrement and the decomposition of dead animals and plants, and are converted into carbon dioxide, water, and ammonia (gaseous compound of nitrogen and hydrogen) by a set of bacteria in the soil. A portion of this ammonia is converted into soil nitrogen (fixed nitrogen) by another set of bacteria and the balance is released into the atmosphere as free nitrogen (N2).” (nitrogen cycle, n.d.) Human impact on this cycle is very significant. Farmers plant crops such as; peas, beans, and alfalfa. These crops pull nitrogen from the air which helps raise the rate of nitrogen fixation on the land. Farmers also plant corn and wheat which are sprayed with nitrogen derived from industrial fixation. All of these crops help humans to survive. Having these crops benefiting humans we are more than doubling the amount of nitrogen that’s moved from the atmosphere to the land. When sulfur is released by burning fossil fuels, which humans do, this is killing and polluting our lakes and ponds and killing our forests. With these and other chemicals being put into our land, these are reaching our oceans and big areas of water and this will

Some nitrous oxides sulfur oxides lead to acid rain. It can have harmful effects on plants, animals and buildings. Oil spill in Gulf of Mexico this year caused ecological disaster. “An explosion occurred on the semi-submersible offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 rig workers and injuring 17 others. On April 24, it was found that the wellhead was damaged and was leaking oil into the Gulf. This significant spill poses a serious threat to wildlife, affecting as many as 400 species along the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.” (Curry L. Hagerty, 2010) The number of fossil fuels is limited. Even they are enough now. Are they still enough in 50 years? So it is a time for our human beings to decide how to deal with the relationship with fossil fuels.

Agricultural practices can lead to significant air quality concerns through the emission of ammonia, nitrous oxide, methane, and other potentially dangerous gases.

Dane, John, and Kent J. Voorhees. "Investigation of Nitro-Organic Compounds in Diesel Engine Exhaust." National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2010). Print.

With the supply of fossil fuels steadily declining, gas and oil is becoming harder to harvest which means it is getting more expensive. Fossil fuels take millions of years to be naturally produced, yet each person burns gallons of gas per day (Maehlum par. 5). Though fossil fuels are produced naturally, when burned they release nitrogen oxides gases into the atmosphere, which contributes to the formation of smog and acid rain. According to the EPA, major sources of these nitrogen oxide emissions come from cars and trucks, coal-fire powered plants, large industrial operations, and ships and airplanes (EPA par 3). By reducing the number of gas powered cars on the road, we can reduce the amount of harmful chemicals we are releasing into our atmosphere.

The bulk of this nitrate comes from fertilizer running off agricultural fields. Scientists warn that a boom in crops such as corn for biofuel will only make matters worse. Last year, U.S. farmers planted more than 90 million acres,

During World War 1 scientists discovered a process which involved taking the nitrogen from the air and turning it into usable ammonia. Most of the ammonia acquired by this process has been used as fertiliser. Upon evaporation, the ammonia proceeds to turning into acid rain. A few attempts have been made to control agricultural nitrogen emissions however, no steps have been taken to regulate agricultural ammonia emissions. Ammonia emissions also come from animal feeding operations. When the ammonia rises into the air and then falls back to the ground, it is broken into nitric and nitrogen acids which can kill plants and fish.

This report will compare and contrast the characteristics and roles of nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide in the atmosphere and their relation to human activity and health. Three main missions, Ozone Monitoring Instrument, Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere, and Atmosphere Infrared Sounder, pertinent to this study are included. These missions are also compared and contrasted to each other, similar to the two gasses that are the focus of this report. Concerning the gasses, NO2 will be thoroughly discussed. What it is, how it forms and its relation to human activity are also encompassed. In addition to this topics, whether or not NO2’s effects are local and global and the reason it is being studied are conversed. The topics

Nitrous Oxide has effected the world positively and negatively. The most common use of Nitrous Oxide is as a laughing gas for medical procedures. Laughing gas is a anasthetic used in most cases by the dentist in removing teeth, such as the wisdom tooth. This is because laughing gas is a strong medicine used for feeling no pain that may cause common symptoms to the body like nausea or another word for dizziness, Though laughing gas is so useful, it has another side to it. Laughing gas is seriously harmful when exposed to much to the human body. People especially young adults abuse laughing gas, Since laughing gas isn't illegal to sell people all around the street sell it. The UK is a common place to see laughing gas all around. People in the

Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) have been rising because of increasing emissions from human activities. The primary source of CO2 is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. CO2 is also produced by land use changes, including tropical deforestation. Agricultural activity and waste treatment are important sources of CH4 and N2O

The total United States carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for 2014 were 5,404 million metric tons (Mt). Of this, the electricity sector was responsible for 2,043 Mt (37.8%). Coal fired power plants produced 76% of the electricity sector’s CO2 emissions, with the most of the remaining emissions coming from natural gas-fired power plants. With new clean air standards being signed into law every year, coal-fired power plants are facing a serious push towards clean coal technology. Coal resources are abundant throughout the world, inexpensive, and relatively stable in price compared other energy resources such as natural gas. For this reason, coal is expected continue to play a large role as one of the primary energy sources for the generation of electricity in the United States well in 2040 (EIA, 2012). However, the most critical issue with promoting the utilization of coal is to decrease its environmental load. Today, the generation of electricity via coal is extremely dirty; combustion of coal generates larger amounts of sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulates compared to oil and natural gas. To make it possible to utilize coal in a manner harmonious with the environment, as required by carbon pollution standards in the United States, and contribute to the energy security of our nation, it is important to develop and expand the use of clean coal technology.

For example, according to the EPA, the nitrous oxide released froman SUV traps 270 times more heat per molecule in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide(1). When nitrous oxide increases in the atmosphere, more heat is trapped in the atmosphere and unnecessarily contributes to the earth’s natural greenhouse effect.

CO2 is the most significant greenhouse gas, which mainly comes from the use of fossil fuels. Many people feel that content of CO2 in the atmosphere is the main reason for manmade global warming. The main sources of CO2 emissions involve electricity generation, industrial processes, fumes from transportation and commercial buildings and use. Emissions of greenhouse gases, such as CO2, to the atmosphere are expected to cause even more of a significant change in global climate (Davison, 2007). The main focus to try to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is to reduce the amount that is released from coal-fired power plants. Greenhouse gas emissions that involve the productions of electricity come from natural gas production and coal-fired power plant operations. Natural gas production accounts for twenty-four percent and coal-fired power plant operations accounts for seventy-five percent, while the other one percent is caused by other electricity generation operations. The main reason why coal-fired power plants have a higher percentage of emissions is because the sulfur content of coal is much higher than that of other fossil fuels (Jarmaillo et al., 2007). This proves that there is a great need to find an alternative fossil fuel to use instead of coal. Although coal is easy to mine, transport and process for the electricity generation process, it is also the

When a huge amount of nitrogen oxide is being emitted into the air it forms smog and acid rain. Acid rain can damage everything that it falls on mainly the environment; it contaminated human resources such as water and etc. Once the acid rain contaminates the water resources it deteriorates the water quality causing more nitrogen to be in the water. With more nitrogen present in the water it upset the chemical balance of nutrients/ minerals that are being consume by the aquatic plants and animals. As a result, it can lead up to depletion in oxygen which are the key component of all living things. Without oxygen there would be no

The nitrogen in the digestate might be converted to nitrous oxide (N2O), a GHG even more potent than CH4, after application to soil. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) task force on greenhouse inventories emission factor for direct N2O emissions from organic fertilizers is 0.01 kg N2O–N per kilogram of applied N where each kilogram of N2O–N equates to 44/14 g of N2O (IPCC, 2006). Direct N2O emissions from field application of digestate were estimated in this manner and added as a GHG burden. Emissions from transporting digestate to the field assumed the digestate was dewatered by centrifuge to 30 wt% solids.