As a fertilizer with 46% nitrogen, all in amide form, urea is the most concentrated nitrogen fertilizer. This together with the fact that it is not a dangerous product, makes its transportation, storage and application more cost effective in comparison to the other straight nitrogen fertilizers. Urea is produced in prilled or granular form, whereas the production of granular urea is continuously increasing in the past years and the most new production capacity is designed for the production of granular urea. The advantage of the granular urea is the more uniform size distribution, which ensures even spread of the product on the field.
More than 90% of the world urea production is allocated for agricultural use as nitrogen fertilizer. Urea is either applied directly as straight fertilizer to the soil, or as an ingredient for various tailor made bulk blends. Alternatively urea is also a valuable raw material for compound fertilizers, as well as in solutions for fertigation. Another very important application of urea is the production of chemical compounds, such as formaldehyde resins and adhesives, widely used in the chipboard and furniture industry. Very high technical quality urea is used automobile system for reduction of the nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gases.
