Oxidation of Inorganic Nitrogen Compounds as an Energy Source

Abstract

Life depends on the element nitrogen. In nature, nitrogen exists mainly in the oxidation states -III (NH3), O (N2), +I (N2O), +II (NO), +III (NO2-), +IV (NO2), and +V (NO3-). Owing to nitrogen transformations by the activity of living organisms and to chemical instability, any form of oxidation state has only a transient existence. Dinitrogen (N2) is the most inert and frequent constituent of the atmosphere.