Nitrous oxide

Nitrous oxide under room conditions is a colourless non-flammable gas, with a pleasant slightly sweet odor. It is commonly known as laughing gas due to the exhilarating effects of inhaling it. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anaestgetic and analgesic effects. Nitrous oxide included, are greenhouse gases 270 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Additionally, when nitrogen oxides combine with hydrocarbons and sunlights they produce photochemical smog. For this reason, nitrous oxide emissions from industrial processes and internal combustion engines are regulated in many areas.

Burning fossil fuels and wood is one source of the increase in atmospheric nitrous oxide, however the main contributor is believed to be the widespread use of nitrogen-base fertilisers. Sewage treatment plants may also be a major source of this gas. And nitrous oxide has one of the longest atmosphere lifetimes of the greenhouse gases, lasting for up to 150 years.

 

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