Get started
Work

Nitrous oxide emissions from production, storage and application of nitrogen enriched organic fertilizer

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Plasma-based nitrogen (N) enrichment of organic fertilizers can improve agricultural resource efficiency and reduce fertilizer-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The method uses an electrically generated air plasma to produce reactive N that is absorbed by the organic fertilizer as nitrate (NO 3 − ) and nitrite (NO 2 − ). The enrichment process reduces the pH of the substrate, which reduces ammonia volatilization and inhibits microbial activity , which effectively prevents methane (CH 4 ) formation and denitrification during storage. However, the elevated content of reactive N increases the risk of chemical and microbial nitrous oxide (N 2 O) formation. In this work, we determined a combined N 2 O emission factor for the production, storage and field application of nitrogen enriched organic fertilizer to better assess its overall impact on fertilizer-related GHG emission. The N enriched organic fertilizer was shown to emit significantly more N 2 O (1.8 % ± 0.48 % of total N) compared to the standard figure for untreated cow manure (1.0 % of total N), likely originating from chemical interactions of NO 2 − with organic compounds in the substrate and the soil. Despite the elevated N 2 O emissions, the reduction in overall GHG was estimated to 72 ± 5.2 kgCO 2 eq ton −1 based on the Tier 2 methodology devised by the IPCC. A clear link was established between the NO 2 − content and N 2 O emissions and a lower NO 2 − concentration was shown to reduce overall N 2 O emissions by 45 %. Controlling the NO 2 − content is therefore a viable strategy to mitigate the N 2 O emissions associated with nitrogen enriched organic fertilizers .
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179375
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,250
OpenAlex ID: W4409410891
FWCI: 1.51
Cites: 19
Cited by: 3
Related to: 10