Nitrous oxide global

Levine J. S., Cofer W. R., Sebacher D. L, Winstead E. L., Sebacher S., and Boston P. J. (1988) The effects of fire on biogenic soil emissions of nitric oxide and nitrous oxide. Global Biogeochem. Cycles 2, 445-449. 

Each greenhouse gas differs in its ability to absorb heat in the atmosphere. HFCs and PFCs are the most heat-absorbent. Methane traps over 21 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide absorbs 270 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide. Often, estimates of greenhouse gas emissions are presented in units of millions of metric tons of carbon equivalents (MMTCE), which weighs each gas by its GWP value, that is, Global Warming Potential. 

What has changed in the last few hundred years is the additional release of carbon dioxide by human activities. Fossil fuels burned to run cars and trucks, heat homes and businesses, and power factories are responsible for about 98% of carbon dioxide emissions, 24% of methane emissions, and 18% of nitrous oxide emissions. Increased agriculture, deforestation, landfills, industrial production, and mining also contribute a significant share of emissions (5). For example, in 1997, the United States emitted about one-fifth of total global greenhouse gases. 

Abstract Presently, a growing interest is focused on unregulated emissions of nitrous oxide (N20) from stationary and mobile sources in order to anticipate future restrictive legislations, since N20 exhibits a significant higher global warming power than that of C02. 

Recent estimates indicate that the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by a third since the beginning of the industrial age, and that it contributes significantly to global warming. Other major contributors include methane, tropospheric ozone, and nitrous oxide. Methane is the principal component of natural gas, but it is also produced by other sources such as rice paddies and farm animals. Tropospheric ozone is generated naturally and by the sunlight-... 

Fig. 4.1 Greenhouse gas emission such as carbon dioxide (C02), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20) converted to C02 equivalents, by sector in 2004 (Barker et al. 2007). Agriculture and forestry together play a major role in the global fluxes of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane...

Kim KR, Craig H. Nitrogen-15 and oxygen-18 characteristics of nitrous oxide-a global perspective. Science 1993 262 1855-1857. 

Adipic acid is of considerable importance since it is a precursor to nylon and polyester, which are extensively used in many products. Between two and three million tonnes are produced worldwide each year. Currently, its main method of manufacture is a costly, multistep process involving concentrated nitric acid. Nitrous oxide is produced as a by-product in such quantities that they measurably contribute to global warming and ozone depletion [24], A cleaner alternative to this process is clearly highly desirable. 

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhonse gas with a radiative forcing effect 310 times that of CO2 and a lifetime in the troposphere of approximately 120 years. Part of the N2O is converted to NO in the stratosphere, and so contributes to depletion of ozone. Nitric oxide (NO) is very reactive in the atmosphere and has a lifetime of only 1-10 days. It contribntes to acidification and to reactions leading to the formation of ozone in the troposphere, and so also to global warming. 

Table 8.4a Estimates of the global nitrous oxide budget (Tg N year from different sources and sinks...

Besides NOx oxides, there is nitrous oxide (N2O), which is of special interest in isotope geochemistry. N2O is present in air at around 300 ppb and increases by about 0.2% per year. Nitrous oxide is an important greenhouse gas that is, on a molecular basis, a much more effective contributor to global warming than CO2 and that is also a major chemical control on stratospheric ozone budgets. 

Berges, M. G. M R. M. Hofmann, D. Scharffe, and P. J. Crutzen, Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Motor Vehicles in Tunnels and Their Global Extrapolation, J. Geophys. Res., 98, 18527-18531 (1993). 

Bouwman, A. F., and J. A. Taylor, Testing High-Resolution Nitrous Oxide Emission Estimates against Observations Using an Atmospheric Transport Model, Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 10, 307-318 (1996). 

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