Hybrid brown coal-urea fertiliser reduces nitrogen loss compared to urea alone

Synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilisers, such as urea, are susceptible to rapid dissipation from soil. More gradual release of mineral N from fertiliser may reduce the off-site movement of mineral N, thereby enhancing N supply to crops and minimising negative off-site impacts. We hypothesised that granulation of urea with humified brown coal (BC) delays mineral N release and maintains higher concentrations of N in soil than conventional urea granules. Four different brown coal-urea granules, with C:N ratios of 1-10, were prepared by pan granulation. Advanced spectroscopic and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) techniques confirmed loading of urea-N into the BC structure. Nitrogen-release from BCU granules was slower than from urea, resulting in higher N retention over a longer period for increasing growth and N uptake by crop plants. This trend increased with higher loading of BC, emphasising the significant role of BC in N retention. These findings support the hypothesis that BC is suitable for developing slow release N fertilisers.