Urea: Production route
Gas-based Gulf plants versus China's coal-based urea
Gas-based Gulf plants versus China's coal-based urea What this tab covers How it is made: the main production routes or, for product families, the main product types and technologies, compared on share of supply, inputs per tonne, plant scale, yield, co-products and unit cost.All urea is made from ammonia and CO2, so the routes differ in how the ammonia is made and how the urea is finished. Gas-based plants in the Gulf, Russia, North Africa, the US and India use the reformer's CO2. Chinese plants use coal-based ammonia; about 78% of China's urea is coal-based (Reuters 2026). Finishing is prilling or granulation. Low-carbon urea is hard: green ammonia lacks a CO2 stream, so it needs captured or biogenic CO2.
Routes compared
| Route | Share of supply | Inputs per tonne | Typical scale | Yield | Co-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gas-based ammonia-urea complex (granular) | most export supply from the Gulf, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Russia and the US (indicative) | about 0.57 t NH3 and 0.73-0.75 t CO2 per t urea, plus steam and power; India's best plants about 5-5.5 Gcal per t urea including ammonia (indicative) | single trains 1.2-1.4 Mt a year (Indian new plants 1.27 Mt; QAFCO 5.6 Mt on one site) | near stoichiometric | process condensate, ammonia emissions from the granulator | driven by ammonia cost: about 0.57 x ammonia cash cost plus about $30-50/t conversion (indicative) |
| Coal-based ammonia-urea (China; Talcher in India) | about 78% of China's urea (Reuters 2026) | about 0.7-0.9 t coal per t urea via ammonia (indicative) | Talcher 1.27 Mt a year, 67% complete in May 2025 | as gas route | more CO2, slag, sulphur | northern China urea about $255-267/t in Apr 2026, when Indonesian export urea was $700-780/t (Reuters) |
| Prilled urea | much of India's and China's older capacity (indicative) | as above | up to about 1 Mt a year per tower | as above | urea dust and ammonia from the tower top | slightly below granular; trades at a discount (indicative) |
| Enhanced-efficiency and liquid products (coated urea, inhibitors, nano urea, DEF) | all Indian urea is neem coated (since 2015); other forms small | small extra inputs | add-on to urea plants | not applicable | none | small premium (indicative) |
How each route works
Gas-based ammonia-urea complex (granular)Ammonia and CO2 from the same site feed a total-recycle stripping urea plant. Melt is sprayed onto seed granules in a fluid bed granulator, giving hard 2-4 mm granules that blend and ship well.
Cheapest route on cheap gas; exposed to gas price shocks.
stoichiometry; Gulf Times (2019); Department of Fertilizers via ETV Bharat (2025); conversion cost indicative Coal-based ammonia-urea (China; Talcher in India)Coal gasification supplies both hydrogen and a CO2 stream; the urea section is the same as gas plants. Many Chinese plants are older prilled units.
Insulates China from world gas; high CO2.
Reuters via The Daily Star (8 Apr 2026); ETV Bharat (2025) Prilled ureaUrea melt is sprayed from the top of a tall prilling tower and solidifies as it falls, giving 1-2.8 mm prills. Cheaper to build but prills are softer and dustier.
Lower capex; weaker product for blending and long-distance shipping.
nitrogen tile; indicative Enhanced-efficiency and liquid products (coated urea, inhibitors, nano urea, DEF)Coatings (neem, sulphur, polymer) and urease or nitrification inhibitors slow nitrogen losses. IFFCO's nano urea is a liquid foliar spray marketed as a partial substitute for bagged urea. DEF is technical urea dissolved to 32.5%.
Cuts losses and diversion; field benefits of nano urea are debated (indicative).
Government of India (2015); nitrogen tile Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs move with feedstock and energy prices, plant size and region.