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India Permits Anhydrous Ammonia as Agricultural Fertiliser
What’s the News?
The Union government has notified anhydrous ammonia as a fertiliser under the Fertiliser (Inorganic, Organic or Mixed) (Control) Order, 1985.
The approval permits eligible units to manufacture and market it for an initial period of three years, subject to prescribed quality standards. The measure seeks to diversify India’s nitrogen-fertiliser options and potentially reduce dependence on imported urea.
Anhydrous Ammonia?
- Chemical formula: NH₃
- Meaning of anhydrous: Ammonia containing virtually no water.
- Minimum nitrogen content: 82% by weight.
- Urea nitrogen content: Around 46% by weight.
- It is stored as a liquefied gas under pressure and injected below the soil surface using specialised equipment.
- After entering moist soil, ammonia is converted into ammonium, which supplies nitrogen to crops.
Its higher nitrogen concentration means that a smaller quantity is required to provide the same amount of nitrogen compared with urea.
Regulatory Framework
The specifications were notified under Clause 20A of the Fertiliser Control Order.
- Clause 20A authorises the Central Government to provisionally notify specifications for new fertilisers.
- The approval remains valid for three years from its publication in the Official Gazette.
- It establishes quality standards and a legal pathway for manufacture and sale.
- It does not itself create a subsidy, procurement programme or compulsory-use requirement.
The Fertiliser Control Order is issued under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and regulates fertiliser quality, manufacture, distribution and sale.
Why is it Significant?
Reducing Urea Dependence
India reportedly:
- Produces approximately 30 million tonnes of urea annually.
- Imports nearly 10 million tonnes to meet domestic demand.
Direct agricultural use of ammonia could utilise part of the ammonia supply before its conversion into urea, thereby expanding domestic fertiliser availability and reducing exposure to international urea prices and supply disruptions.
Higher Nutrient Concentration
| Fertiliser | Approximate nitrogen content |
|---|---|
| Anhydrous ammonia | 82% |
| Urea | 46% |
| Ammonium sulphate | 21% |
Higher concentration can reduce the volume required for transporting and storing an equivalent amount of nitrogen. However, these potential savings depend on specialised infrastructure and safe field application.
Implementation Challenges
- Specialised machinery: It cannot be spread like granular urea and must be injected into the soil.
- Pressurised storage: Dedicated tanks and leak-proof transport systems are required.
- Safety risks: Direct exposure can cause severe skin and eye burns and respiratory injury.
- Volatilisation: Improper injection can allow ammonia to escape into the atmosphere, causing nitrogen loss.
- Training requirements: Operators require technical training and protective equipment.
- Uneven application: Initial agricultural trials reportedly found that non-uniform injection could produce uneven crop growth.
Link with Green Fertilisers
The measure complements India’s efforts to develop green ammonia and green urea.
- Green ammonia: Produced using green hydrogen derived from renewable electricity rather than fossil-fuel-based hydrogen.
- Green urea: Manufactured using green ammonia and a carbon source.
- The National Green Hydrogen Mission supports the development of green hydrogen and its derivatives.
- A 150-tonne-per-day green urea pilot plant is being developed at Pudimadaka in Andhra Pradesh by NETRA, the research and development arm of NTPC.
Additional Info
- Fertiliser Control Order, 1985
- Administered by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
- Prescribes product specifications, sampling procedures, licensing requirements and quality-control mechanisms.
- ICAR
- The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has conducted preliminary trials involving green ammonia in rice cultivation.
- Large-scale adoption requires standardisation of dosage, soil-injection depth and application machinery.