Question

Your first assignment is to provide information to the firm BigMoney Inc, a chemical producer in Kansas interested in using microbes to clean toxic spills (bioremediation). BigMoney Inc. has had a major spill of inorganic Nitrite (N02-) that contaminated the soil around their plant. Scientists at BigMoney have developed mechanisms for removing NH4+ from soil, but have not found one for N02-. They want to know on a strictly theoretical basis (regardless of whether bacteria exist in nature that actually do these specific reactions) if there are any types of bacteria that could metabolize N02- to give rise to NH4+?Nitrite (N02-) to Ammonium (NH4+).a) Is this an oxidation or reduction?b) Is N02- acting as an electron acceptor or donor?

Answer 1

Answer:

Bacteria that  metabolize NO2- to give rise to NH4+ belongs to the family of denitrifying bacteria and nitrate ammonification bacteria such as pseudomonas.

Explanation:

Denitrifying bacteria uses NO2- as electron aceeptor thus converting the nitrite ion (NO2-) to ammonium ion(NH4+).

              a) The above reaction is a reduction reaction because NO2- or nitrite ion accept electron to generated its reduced form known as ammonium(NH4+).

             b)  NO2- acting as electron acceptor in this reaction.