Knowra Urea Urea Urea, CO(NH₂)₂, is a nitrogen-rich organic compound formed when animals convert toxic ammonia from protein metabolism into a form they can excrete. It is also produced industrially for fertilizers, resins, and other products.
Urea cycle : A series of liver reactions that converts ammonia and carbon dioxide into urea for excretion. This metabolic pathway produces most urea in mammals.
Urea fertilizer : A nitrogen fertilizer made from urea, commonly applied to crops after conversion into plant-available nitrogen forms. It is the largest agricultural use of urea.
Friedrich Wöhler : A German chemist whose 1828 synthesis of urea from inorganic starting materials challenged the distinction between organic and inorganic compounds. His synthesis established a landmark route to laboratory-made urea.
Organic compound : A chemical compound built around carbon, typically containing carbon–hydrogen bonds or characteristic carbon-based functional groups. Urea is a simple organic compound despite its inorganic starting materials.
Nitrogen cycle : The movement and transformation of nitrogen among the atmosphere, organisms, soils, and waters. Urea carries biologically processed nitrogen back into soils and ecosystems.
Ammonia : A nitrogen-containing compound, NH₃, that is toxic at high concentrations and arises during amino-acid breakdown. The liver routes nitrogen from ammonia into urea.
Urea-formaldehyde resin : A thermosetting polymer made by reacting urea with formaldehyde, widely used in adhesives and molded products. Urea supplies the nitrogen-rich building blocks for this resin.
Ammonium cyanate : An inorganic salt that rearranges into urea when heated or dissolved under suitable conditions. Wöhler obtained urea through its rearrangement.
Amide : A compound containing a carbonyl group bonded to nitrogen, or a related nitrogen-containing derivative. Urea’s carbonyl carbon is bonded to two amino groups.
Eutrophication : Excess nutrient enrichment of water that can trigger algal growth, oxygen depletion, and ecological damage. Urea runoff can add nitrogen that contributes to eutrophication.
Show all 27