-- "Pszemol" wrote in message
...
"Stoutman" [email protected] wrote in message
m...
I don't know how they work, but the goal is to turn the nitrates (NO3)
into gaseous nitrogen and oxygen.

wrong. N2 and H2O

2NO3- + 12H+ -----(enzymatic)----- N2 + 6H2O

And how did you get 12H+ on your left side ?

The above equation is the overall reduction of nitrate to nitrogen gas and
water. It is an enzymatic reaction that involves the enzyme nitrate
reductase (among others). The H+ that you are questioning are picked up
from general acids from within the enzyme's active site (i.e. histidine
residues).