The fate in nature of the ammonia originated from confined animal operations: Part I: sources, transformations and sinks

Abstract

The fact that once in the atmosphere, ammonia (NH3) will have detrimental effects on the surroundings ecosystems has long left the category of hypothesis to become a scientific paradigm. This combined with what data have been suggesting that the animal production sector is responsible for emissions of 70 to 90% of all antropogenic NH3 released into the atmosphere, cause intensive animal operation systems to negatively impact the environment due to their gaseous emissions. Once released into the atmosphere, the processes involving NH3 dispersion and transformation are inherently complex and of difficult experimental observation due to the magnitude of its occurrence. However, such processes have to be denuded so that more accurate models for the NH3 cycle in nature can be implemented. This literature review was performed with the following objectives: (1) to show how NH3 and its chemical partner ammonium (NH4+) are intrinsically related, focusing on the process that govern their formation, transformation and NH3 volatilization; (2) to depict the processes of deposition of NH3 in nature; and (3) to indicate the potential sinks of this nitrogen compound in the ecosystems.