Kinetics of the nitrite oxidation by Nitrobacter winogradskyi.

Few quantitative studies of the biological oxidation of nitrite by Nitrobacter have been made, although this process is important in nature. Without it, the concentration of nitrite produced by the oxidation of ammonia would soon reach toxic levels in water or in the soil. The influence of temperature and substrate concentration on the rate of this reaction has never been quantitatively studied, although much contradictory information can be found in the literature. Precise results may have been difficult to obtain and it is perhaps for this reason that the otherwise exhaustive investigations of Meyerhof (1916) do not mention the effect of temperature. The present paper attempts to summarize the data obtained regarding the effects of these two factors and their interaction on the rate of nitrite oxidation.