Fertilizer already existing amount of reactive nitrogen, nitrous oxide (NO) has become the third most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and methane. It has a global warming potential 296 times larger than an equal mass of carbon dioxide and it also contributes to stratospheric ozone depletion. By changing processes and procedures, it is possible to mitigate some, but not all, of these effects on anthropogenic climate change. Methane emissions from crop fields (notably rice paddy fields) are increased by the application of ammonium-based fertilizers. These emissions contribute to global climate change as methane is a potent greenhouse gas. In Europe
Sulfur dioxide and 2002. This improvement resulted in part from flue-gas desulfurization, a technology that enables SO to be chemically bound in power plants burning sulfur-containing coal or oil. In particular, calcium oxide (lime) reacts with sulfur dioxide to form calcium sulfite: Aerobic oxidation of the CaSO gives CaSO, anhydrite. Most gypsum sold in Europe comes from flue-gas desulfurization. Sulfur can be removed from coal during burning by using limestone as a bed material in fluidized bed combustion. Sulfur can also be removed from fuels before burning, preventing formation of SO when the fuel is burnt. The Claus process is used in