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by ortusdux·7y ago·view on hn ↗
The byproduct of this reaction is a unit ammonia for each unit of urea used. Is large amounts of ammonia easier to dispose of than urea?

"When urea is hydrolysed by the urease enzyme from the microorganism, ammonia is released and becomes accumulated in the medium which then increases the pH, making it alkaline (Zoheir et al 2013)

(PDF) Integrating Biotechnology into Geotechnical Engineering: A Laboratory Exercise. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326113096_Integrati... [accessed Oct 25 2018]."

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The decomposition of urea [(NH2)2CO] produces two equivalents of ammonia for each equivalent of urea. It's not clear from the article how much (if any) of the ammonia gets consumed by the bacteria.

> Is large amounts of ammonia easier to dispose of than urea?

Ammonia's boiling point is -33 C, so pure urea is a gas a room temperature.

When dissolved in water, ammonia is in equilibrium with ammonium hydroxide. So the stuff can stick around until consumed by microorganism or it evaporates.

Both urea and ammonia can be used as fertilizers.

Pure urea is not a gas at room temperature.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urea

Typo, that should be "ammonia."