Modeling Total Ammonia Nitrogen Concentration

Fauna and flora require nitrogen as an essential nutrient to form amino acids. These amino acids perform critical roles in processes, such as neurotransmitter transport and biosynthesis . Even though 75% of the atmosphere is nitrogen in itsdiatomic form (N2 gas), few living creatures can utilize this type of nitrogen directly. Nitrogen needs to be converted into other forms before most aquatic plants can utilize it.

Ammonia (NH3), or azane, is one of the important sources of nitrogen for the living system. It contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms, serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia is widely used in many commercial cleaning products and is considered as one of the most important contaminants in an aquatic environment for its highly toxic nature and ubiquity. Fish and amphibians lack a mechanism to prevent ammonia’s buildup in the bloodstream, like humans and other mammals do. They usually eliminate ammonia from their bodies by direct excretion. Therefore, ammonia is toxic to the aquatic environment, even at low concentrations. Read more...............