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Re: denitrification
I meant to add something here in my first response to Mr. Frank's letter,
but overlooked it.
> > I don't know if detritrification creates NH4 (I saw this on APD, but
> > always thought that the endproduct was N2)
My understanding is that denitrification can produce several different end
products including ammonium, nitrite and nitrous oxide in addition to
nitrogen gas. There are many different bacteria capable of denitrifying
and different bacteria give different products. Also, one type of
bacteria might produce different products on different conditions.
All that aside, the dominant product under common environmental
conditions is N2. Ratios must be highly variable but I suspect that
under most conditions 80% to 95% of the product will be N2.
My reference on denitrification is a little old and vague, but I think
the generalization is reasonable.
Roger Miller