Origin of nitrogen

Asteroids (and comets), however, can be mixed by coalescence with stony and icy bodies. If large enough, they may transport volatilizable material into earth s atmosphere (the Tunguska event is probably associated with an ammonia spike in the Greenland ice core record). The stony body can fall to the earth s surface but evaporates (in the Tunguska event there is speculation of cosmic carbon input on the other hand, nitrate increase as would be expected from NO formation by heating the atmosphere (see Chapters 2.6A.4 and 5.4.1) has not been found (Rasmussen et al. 1984, 1999, 2008). 

In the discussion above there are indications that ammonia is a common substance in space, distributed from grains (interstellar dust) over asteroids to satellites. Hence it is logical to assume that during the formation of the planet (icy) ammonia (and water and likely other substances) was carried to earth. The survival of ammonia would be extremely limited, first because the planetary bodies were soon molten after aggregation and will lose all volatiles (see Chapter 2.2.1) and form a primitive atmosphere. Secondly, most icy matter falling to the earth s surface would afterwards evaporate (by frictional heating) in that atmosphere, but it would input the volatile matter, e. g., ammonia and other substances (water, methane), which easily explains the first atmosphere (cf Table 2.7). 

The volcanic nitrogen found was attributed in the older literature to mixing with air (which is not likely because of missing argon) and decomposition of organic nitrogen from deposits into the crater (Bischof 1863). Today it is believed that all ammonia/ammonium (Sutton et al. 2008) on earth is the result of biological activity, i.e., by assimilation of atmospheric N2 and subsequent nitrification into NH3. 

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Kaneko, K., Tanaka, M. W, Mitsuhashi,H. (1976). Origin of nitrogen in the biosynthesis of solani dine by Veratrum grandiflorum. Phytochemistry, 1391-1393. 

Knicker H., Hatcher P. G., and Scaroni A. W. (1996) A solid-state NMR spectroscopic investigation of the origin of nitrogen structures in coal. Int. J. Coal Geol. 32, 255-278. 

First NO is formed and then it is oxidized in the atmosphere to NOj. Since in combustion, the origin of nitrogen is not only from N-rich fuel but also from air supphed for oxidation, in the elimination of NO, postcombustion methods are important. So far the most effective technique has been selective catalytic reduction of NO . on various catalysts. When the activated carbons are used as removal media, the elimination process includes also adsorption combined either with oxidation or reduction. Oxidation usually leads to the formation of nitric acid whereas Nj is the product of NO, reduction. As in the cases of other pollutants addressed in this review, for NO, removal either unmodified or impregnated (caustics, catalytic metals) activated carbons have been used [101-114]. 

Jenden PD, Kaplan IR, Poreda RJ, Craig H. (1988) Origin of nitrogen rich gases in the Californian Great Valley Evidence from helinm, carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 52 851-861... 

Tobacco chemists have shown considerable interest in the chemistry and biochemistry of the diverse set of A-containing compounds in tobacco and tobacco smoke. Numerous studies on the presence of nitrogenous compounds in tobacco and tobacco smoke have been published. These studies have reported on various aspects of the origins of nitrogenous... 

Wieler R., Humbert F. and Marty B. (1999) Evidence for a predominantly non-solar origin of nitrogen in the lunar regolith revealed by single grain analyses. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 167, 47-60. 

Elisabethamine is cytotoxic to lung and prostate tumors. The origin of nitrogen remains unknown, but could be glycine. Recall that fuscosides B and C also contain a-arabinose but have for aglycone an elemane derivative, fuscol. 

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