Nitrous Oxide Emissions and the Anthropogenic Nitrogen in Wastewater and Solid Waste

In the 20th century, human interference in the nitrogen cycle has caused a doubling of the global nitrogen fixation rate (an element critical in the proteins of all organisms), thereby intensifying global nitrous oxide (N2O) production during microbial nitrification and denitrification. Nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas, important in climate change, and as well, is a stratospheric ozone-depleting substance. It is likely that much of the Earth’s population now relies on anthropogenic nitrogen in its food supplies, resulting in anthropogenic nitrogen contained in wastes requiring management. Food production is considered as a source of global nitrous oxide emissions; however, the nitrogen in wastewater and solid wastes may be a significant fate of much anthropogenic nitrogen. This factor has largely escaped in-depth, critical analysis from the perspective of nitrous oxide emissions. This paper introduces nitrogen cycling and nitrous oxide production and reviews the research currently available on N2O emissions from wastewater treatment operations, landfilling, composting, and incineration; demonstrating that each process can emit large amounts of this important gas. This is followed by a discussion of the limited research. The relative importance of N2O in waste management is also estimated, indicating that wastewater treatment may be the most important operation for managing anthropogenic nitrogen in wastes.