Nitrate test to 2.5 micrograms and a concentration of 1 in 25,000 parts. Devarda's alloy (Copper/Aluminium/Zinc) is a reducing agent. When reacted with nitrate in sodium hydroxide solution, ammonia is liberated. The ammonia formed may be detected by its characteristic odor, and by damp red litmus paper's turning blue, signalling that it is an alkali — very few gases other than ammonia evolved from wet chemistry are alkaline. Aluminium is the reducing agent in this reaction that will occur. Diphenylamine may be used as a wet chemical test for the presence of the nitrate ion. In this test, a solution of diphenylamine
Alkalinity the most well known is the dissolution of CaCO (calcium carbonate, which is a component of coral reefs) to form Ca and CO (carbonate). The carbonate ion has the potential to absorb two hydrogen ions. Therefore, it causes a net increase in ocean alkalinity. Calcium carbonate dissolution is an indirect result of ocean pH lowering. It can cause great damage to coral reef ecosystems, but has a relatively low effect on the total alkalinity (A) in the ocean. Lowering of pH due to absorption of CO actually raises the alkalinity by causing dissolution of carbonates. Anaerobic degradation processes, such as