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Nitrogen Cycle in Engineered and Natural Ecosystems—Past and Current

  • Water Pollution (S Sengupta and L Nghiem, Section Editors)
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Abstract

Due to modern urbanization and rapid population growth, the nitrogen cycle has been significantly disturbed within differing ecosystems. Focusing specifically on imbalances present in an aquatic ecosystem, it is imperative that the wastewater engineering community addresses the need to conserve energy and resources better by developing more effective tools for application in wastewater treatment plants. The Academy of Engineers recently identified nitrogen cycle management as one of the 14 predominant challenges that engineers need to be addressing in the immediate future. This validates a definite sense of urgency to find practical solutions for implementation in wastewater treatment plants. In order to determine the best means for effective nitrogen cycle management, an in-depth examination of disturbances in the cycle provide an understanding of what is needed to resolve these issues. This article provides an in-depth discussion of past research, developments found in present studies, as well as providing potential strategies for improving the future of nitrogen cycle management.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the US NSF grant #1514637. The views and rationale presented in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the funding agency. We greatly appreciate the time reviewers have spent on this manuscript to provide their useful comments.

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  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Aiswarya Rani Pappu, Ananda Shankar Bhattacharjee, Sunayna Dasgupta & Ramesh Goel

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Pappu, A.R., Bhattacharjee, A.S., Dasgupta, S. et al. Nitrogen Cycle in Engineered and Natural Ecosystems—Past and Current. Curr Pollution Rep 3, 120–140 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40726-017-0051-y

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