denitrification

[ dee-nahy-truh-fi-key-shuhn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Chemistry, Biology.

the bacterial or other microbial process in which nitrates and nitrites are reduced or removed from soil, water, or air by their conversion into nitrogenous gases: This process is environmentally significant, as in the treatment of wastewater, which depends on denitrification to eliminate toxic levels of nitrogen, making the water safe for plants and animals:
We’re observing the nitrogen activity in salt marsh soil, with a particular interest in the last step of the nitrogen cycle—that is, denitrification.

First recorded in 1880–85; de- + nitrification

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