Nitrification is a biological process that converts ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate. If standards require that the resulting nitrate be removed, one treatment alternative is the process of denitrification, in which nitrate is reduced to nitrogen gas.

Is nitrification and denitrification the same?

Nitrification and denitrification are the two processes of the nitrogen cycle. In Nitrification, nitrifying bacteria oxidise ammonia to nitrite and then it is further oxidised to nitrate. ... Denitrification is the opposite of nitrification. In denitrification, microorganisms reduce nitrate back to nitrogen.

Is denitrification the opposite of nitrification?

Denitrification is the process of reducing nitrates in the soil into atmospheric nitrogen gas by denitrifying bacteria. This is opposite of nitrification, which is described in the above section. ... These bacteria are facultative anaerobic and heterotrophic bacteria.