Since the nitrite produced during the partial nitrification is virtually immediately further nitrified to nitrate. And the rate of conversion of ammonia to nitrite by ammonia oxidizing bacteria is much slower than that of nitrite to nitrate by nitrite oxidizing bacteria. Is it fine to consider only the kinetics of the second step of the nitrification process?
Thanks in advance.
It depends on how much careful and precise you need to be, but in my opinion: yes, it should be enough. Since, as you said, conversion of nitrite to nitrate is far faster.
I'm courious to read other opinion anyway...
Greetings.
It depends on the type and state of the system. It is very typical in intensive aquaculture to see a build up of nitrite in the first few weeks of operation as Nitrosomonas spp. become established but Nitrobacter spp. are lagging behind. Once a steady-state has been achieved, then your assumption may be valid. (This is perhaps more applicable to aquarium-keeping where steady-state is a common goal for the aquarist. Steady-state is usually not the goal in intensive aquaculture.)
However, if you are interested in a natural system at steady-state with a supply of ammonia and low organic carbon, then your assumption could be valid.
Also, while Nitrosomonas spp. are obligate chemotrophs, Nitrobacter spp. are facultative. If a sudden influx of a suitable organic carbon (like glucose) becomes available in sufficient quantities, they will consume that and not nitrite. Then there will be a buildup of nitrite. They switch back to nitrite when it is energetically efficient to do so.
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