Nitrogen

The compounds of nitrogen are of great interest to the wastewater chemist because of the importance of nitrogen in life’s processes. The chemistry of nitrogen is complex; this element can take seven oxidation states; five of these are of direct interest: Nitrogen gas (N₂), organic nitrogen (C-C-C-NH₂), ammonia (NH₃), nitrite (NO₂ ^-), and nitrate (NO₃ ^-). The atmosphere is earth’s source of nitrogen, where it exists as the elemental gas and is constantly removed and recycled for life’s needs.