In
biogeochemistry,
remineralisation (UK spelling; US
remineralization) refers to the transformation of
organic molecules to
inorganic forms, typically mediated by biological activity.
Usually remineralisation relates to organic and inorganic molecules involving biologically important elements such as
carbon,
nitrogen and
phosphorus. For example, the following simplified equation shows the complete remineralisation of organic material with a standard
Redfield ratio to oxidised inorganic minerals such as
carbon dioxide,
nitrate (nitric acid) and
phosphate (phosphoric acid).
(C106H124O36) (NH3)16 (H3PO4) + 150 O2 106 CO2 + 16 HNO3 + H3PO4 + 78 H2O + energy In reality, such complete remineralisation is likely to involve several stages each involving different
organisms and
metabolic pathways. For example, in the case of nitrogen, its transformation from
ammonia (NH
3) in the equation above, to nitrate involves the process of
nitrification, usually mediated by a series of bacteria.