Combining sunlight and wastewater nitrate to make the world’s No. 2 chemical

UIC engineers convert nitrates to ammonia in sustainable electrochemical reaction with high solar-to-fuel efficiency

10-Sep-2021 - Engineers at the University of Illinois Chicago have created a solar-powered electrochemical reaction that notonly uses wastewater tomake ammonia — the secondmost-producedchemical in the world — but also achieves a solar-to-fuel efficiency that is 10 times better thanany ...

Urban grime releases air pollutant when exposed to sunlight

18-Aug-2015 - In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers have determined that natural sunlight triggers the release of smog-forming nitrogen oxide compounds from the grime that typically coats buildings, statues and other outdoor surfaces in urban areas. The finding confirms previous laboratory work using ...

Making a better nitrate test kit

11-Aug-2015 - The dull black plastic of the device on Joshua Pearce's desk belies its usefulness. Pearce picks up the box, which has a switch on the side and a small opening on top. A handful of vials sit in a bag nearby, and each would fit snugly in the opening. The set-up seems generic, even bland, except ...

Why food quality will suffer with rising CO2

08-Apr-2014 - For the first time, a field test has demonstrated that elevated levels of carbon dioxide inhibit plants' assimilation of nitrate into proteins, indicating that the nutritional quality of food crops is at risk as climate change intensifies. Findings from this wheat field-test study, led by a UC ...

Nitrogen fertilizer remains in soils and leaks towards groundwater for decades

Long-term legacy of past fertilizer applications must be considered in reducing nitrate contamination of aquatic ecosystems

23-Oct-2013 - Nitrogen fertilizer applied to crops lingers in the soil and leaks out as nitrate for decades towards groundwater – "much longer than previously thought," scientists in France and at the University of Calgary say in a new study. Thirty years after synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer had been ...

Morphing manganese

Researchers report discovery about manganese in aquatic environments

27-Aug-2013 - An often-overlooked form of manganese, an element critical to many life processes, is far more prevalent in ocean environments than previously known, according to a study led by University of Delaware researchers that was published in "Science." The discovery alters understanding of the chemistry ...

Faster and Enhanced Determination of Nitrate and Nitrite in Milk

14-Oct-2011 - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announced a new application for the determination of nitrite and nitrate in milk by ion chromatography (IC) with suppressed conductivity detection using in-line sample preparation. Excessive consumption of nitrite and nitrate has been implicated as a cause in some ...

Yara announces new season nitrate prices

20-May-2011 - Yara has announced new season nitrate prices in Europe. The prices are effective for all new deliveries and until further notice.In Germany, Yara's prices for calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) are EUR 247 per ton CIF North and EUR 251 per ton CIF South. In France, Yara's price for ammonium nitrate ...

Yara reports strong results as margins and volumes improve

21-Oct-2010 - Yara International ASA reports strong results for third quarter 2010 as fertilizer margin improvement and higher sales volumes more than offset increased energy costs. Third-quarter net income after non-controlling interests was NOK 1,927 million (NOK 6.68 per share), compared with NOK 349 ...

Measuring nitrate concentrations in leafy green vegetables

10-Sep-2009 - Leafy green vegetables such as lettuce, Asian greens, and spinach can accumulate high concentrations of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), which are potentially harmful if consumed by humans. To measure NO3-N concentration in plant tissue, many laboratories use ion selective electrodes (ISEs). Relatively ...