[ noun ] the chief solid component of mammalian urine; synthesized from ammonia and carbon dioxide and used as fertilizer and in animal feed and in plastics <noun.substance>
Urea \U"re*a\, a. [NL. See {Urine}.] (Physiol. Chem.) A very soluble crystalline body which is the chief constituent of the urine in mammals and some other animals. It is also present in small quantity in blood, serous fluids, lymph, the liver, etc.
Note: It is the main product of the regressive metamorphosis (katabolism) of proteid matter in the body, and is excreted daily to the amount of about 500 grains by a man of average weight. Chemically it is carbamide, {CO(NH2)2}, and when heated with strong acids or alkalies is decomposed into carbonic acid and ammonia. It unites with acids to form salts, as nitrate of urea, and it can be made synthetically from ammonium cyanate, with which it is isomeric.
{Urea ferment}, a soluble ferment formed by certain bacteria, which, however, yield the ferment from the body of their cells only after they have been killed by alcohol. It causes urea to take up water and decompose into carbonic acid and ammonia. Many different bacteria possess this property, especially {Bacterium ure[ae]} and {Micrococcus ure[ae]}, which are found abundantly in urines undergoing alkaline fermentation.
Now, it went to BP and offered it more business if Scott could buy urea in the fall and winter and pay only after the fertilizer was sold in the spring.
But the study also suggests that some doctors may rely too heavily on a widely used marker in determining treament: blood urea nitrogen, or BUN, concentration.
In a seminar titled "Unraveling the Mysteries of Hide Glue" ("a sticky subject," said Mr. Poletti), three dozen earnest instrument makers got free samples and found out that adding urea to hide glue keeps it liquid longer.
The oil company will build ammonium nitrate and urea ammonium nitrate production facilities to replace the Brea plant, and increase production capacity.