Nitrogen Cycle?

Question

I wonder, what would happen to the excessive nitrogen we eat?

Answer 1

As a result of extensive cultivation of legumes (particularly soy, alfalfa, and clover), growing use of the Haber-Bosch process in the creation of chemical fertilizers, and pollution emitted by vehicles and industrial plants, human beings have more than doubled the annual transfer of nitrogen into biologically available forms.[2] In addition, humans have significantly contributed to the transfer of nitrogen trace gases from Earth to the atmosphere, and from the land to aquatic systems.

N2O has risen in the atmosphere as a result of agricultural fertilization, biomass burning, cattle and feedlots, and other industrial sources.[3] N2O has deleterious effects in the stratosphere, where it breaks down and acts as a catalyst in the destruction of atmospheric ozone. Ammonia (NH3) in the atmosphere has tripled as the result of human activities. It is a reactant in the atmosphere, where it acts as an aerosol, decreasing air quality and clinging on to water droplets, eventually resulting in acid rain. Fossil fuel combustion has contributed to a 6 or 7 fold increase in NOx flux to the atmosphere. NOx actively alters atmospheric chemistry, and is a precursor of tropospheric (lower atmosphere) ozone production, which contributes to smog, acid rain, and increases nitrogen inputs to ecosystems.Ecosystem processes can increase with nitrogen fertilization, but anthropogenic input can also result in nitrogen saturation, which weakens productivity and can kill plants.Decreases in biodiversity can also result if higher nitrogen availability increases nitrogen-demanding grasses, causing a degradation of nitrogen-poor, species diverse heathlands.[

Onsite sewage facilities such as septic tanks and holding tanks release large amounts of nitrogen into the environment by discharging through a drainfield into the ground. Microbial activity consumes the nitrogen and other contaminants in the wastewater. However, in certain areas the soil is unsuitable to handle some or all of the wastewater, and as a result, the wastewater with the contaminants enters the aquifers. These contaminants accumulate and eventually end up in drinking water. One of the contaminants concerned about the most is nitrogen in the form of nitrates. A nitrate concentration of 10 ppm or 10 milligrams per liter is the current EPA limit for drinking water and typical household wastewater can produce a range of 20-85 ppm (milligrams per liter).

The health risk associated with drinking >10 ppm nitrogen water is the development of methemoglobinemia and has been found to cause blue baby syndrome. Several states have now started programs to introduce advanced wastewater treatment systems to the typical onsite sewage facilities. The result of these systems is an overall reduction of nitrogen, as well as other contaminants in the wastewater.

Answer 2

it comes out of the bloodstream in the form of urine and sweat.