Comparison chart

Chemical Fertilizer
NPK Ratio 20 to 60%

Organic Fertilizer
About 14%

Example Ammonium sulfate, ammonium Cottonseed meal, blood meal, fish

phosphate, ammonium nitrate, emulsion, and manure and sewage
urea, ammonium chloride and
sludge, etc.
the like.
Advantages Chemical fertilizers are rich
equally in three essential
nutrients that are needed for
crops and always ready for
immediate supply of nutrients
to plants if situation demands.

Adds natural nutrients to soil, increases

soil organic matter, improves soil
structure and tilth, improves water
holding capacity, reduces soil crusting
problems, reduces erosion from wind
and water, Slow and consistent release
of nutrients,

Disadvantages Several chemical fertilizers have Have slow release capability;

high acid content. They have the distribution of nutrients in organic
ability to burn the skin. Changes fertilizers is not equal.
soil fertility.
Rate of Immediate supply or slow
production release
About Chemical fertilizers are
manufactured from synthetic
material
Preparation Artificially prepared.

Nutrients Have equal distribution of three

essential nutrients:
phosphorous, nitrogen,
potassium.
Cost Chemical fertilizers turn out to
be cheaper because they pack
more nutrients per pound of

Slow release
Organic fertilizers are made from
materials derived from living things.
Prepared naturally. One can prepare
organic fertilizers, themselves or can
also buy.
Have unequal distribution of essential
nutrients.

Organic fertilizer may be cheaper per

pound but works out to be more
expensive over all because more of it is

Chemical Fertilizer

Organic Fertilizer

weight.

needed for the same level of nutrients.

About

A chemical fertilizer is defined as any inorganic material of wholly or

partiallysynthetic origin that is added to the soil to sustain plant growth.
Chemical fertilizers are produced synthetically from inorganic materials. Since
they are prepared from inorganic materials artificially, they may have some
harmful acids, which stunt the growth of microorganisms found in the soil
helpful for plant growth naturally. Theyre rich in the three essential nutrients
needed for plant growth. Some examples of chemical fertilizers are ammonium
sulphate, ammonium phosphate, ammonium nitrate, urea, ammonium
chloride and the like.
Organic fertilizers are substances that are derived from the remains or by
products of organisms. Organic fertilizers depend upon the microorganisms
found in soil to break them down and release the essential nutrients. Organic
nutrients are rich inphosphorous, nitrogen, and potassium, but in unequal
proportions. Examples of organic fertilizers are cottonseed meal, blood meal, fish
emulsion, and manure andsewage sludge. There are two types of organic
fertilizers: first is the synthetic type which is organic compound produced
artificially (e.g., Urea, a common organic fertilizer; the other type is natural
organic fertilizers because 100% of the ingredients used to create a typical
natural organic fertilizer come from nature (e.g., fish extract, seaweed and
manure, guano, and compost materials).
Distribution of nutrients

Fertilizers are used to provide nutrients to the plants for their good growth. Soil
nutrients deficiency is the prevalent problem among home-garden owners. One
of the distinct advantages of chemical fertilizers over organic fertilizers is that
chemical fertilizers are rich equally in all three essential nutrients: nitrogen,

phosphorous, and potassium. On the other hand, organic fertilizers may be rich
in one of the three nutrients, or may have low levels of all the three nutrients.
Cost

Organic fertilizers are generally much more expensive than chemical fertilizers,
mostly because chemical fertilizers have more concentrated levels of nutrients
per weight of product than organic fertilizers do. One needs several pounds of
organic fertilizer to provide the same soil nutrient levels that a single pound of
chemical fertilizer provides, and the higher cost of organic fertilizer is one of the
biggest reasons that organic produce is more expensive than non-organic. (The
other big reason being lower organic yields, on average.) Although it is possible
to make a lot of one's own organic fertilizer as well, once the labor, time, and
other resources are accounted for, homemade organic fertilizer is usually more
expensive than store-bought chemical fertilizer too.
Supply of nutrients

One aspect of the organic fertilizers is their slow-release capability. Slow-release

capability of organic fertilizers has both advantages and disadvantages: Slowrelease means there is less risk of over-fertilization but sometimes this slowrelease of organic fertilizers is not able to fulfill to needed supply of the
nutrients, whenever required. In contrast to organic fertilizer, chemical fertilizers
are always there to provide immediate supply of nutrients to plants if situation
demands.
Acid content

One of the main disadvantages of chemical fertilizers is that, in contrast to

organic fertilizers, several chemical fertilizers have high acid content like sulfuric
acid andhydrochloric acid. This high acid content results in the destruction of
the nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which is helpful in supplying the nitrogen to a
growing plant. In contrast, organic fertilizers support the growth of nitrogenfixing bacteria..

NPK ratio

Chemical fertilizers always have a high total NPK

(nitrogen:phosphorous:potassium), from 20 to 60 percent or more. The total NPK
for organic fertilizer blends will always be low. Fourteen percent is about as high
as it gets.
History

Natural fertilizers like manure have been in use for centuries as these were the
only form of nutrition that could be provided to crops before the invention of
chemical fertilizers. Chemicals were added to natural fertilizers after the second
world war. Post the war, with advancement of technology there was an explosive
growth in artificial fertilizers due to improved productivity. But of late, there has
been mass awareness of the eco friendliness of the use of organic fertilizers and
many are using those methods again.
Use

There are two ways to measure fertilizer use in a country. One is by nutrient
content how much nitrogen, phosphate and potash are contained in the
fertilizer applied. In fiscal year 2004, 23.4 million tons of nutrients were applied
in the US. Another way to measure is in total tonnage the total tons it takes to
deliver the nutrient content. In fiscal year 2004, 57.8 million total tons were used
in the United States. The world's largest producers and users of fertilizers are the
United States, China, India, Russia and Brazil.
Some reports suggest the US Fertilizer market to be around $40 Billion of which
organic fertilizers occupy only about $60 Miliion. The rest of it is the share of the
various artificial fertilizers.

The Manufacturing
Process
Fully integrated factories have been designed to produce compound fertilizers. Depending on the actual
composition of the end product, the production process will differ from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Nitrogen fertilizer component

1 Ammonia is one nitrogen fertilizer component that can be synthesized from in-expensive raw
materials. Since nitrogen makes up a significant portion of the earth's atmosphere, a process was
developed to produce ammonia from air. In this process, natural gas and steam are pumped into a large
vessel. Next, air is pumped into the system, and oxygen is removed by the burning of natural gas and
steam. This leaves primarily nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is removed
and ammonia is produced by introducing an electric current into the system. Catalysts such as
magnetite (Fe3O4) have been used to improve the speed and efficiency of ammonia synthesis. Any
impurities are removed from the ammonia, and it is stored in tanks until it is further processed.

2 While ammonia itself is sometimes used as a fertilizer, it is often converted to other substances
for ease of handling. Nitric acid is produced by first mixing ammonia and air in a tank. In the presence
of a catalyst, a reaction occurs which converts the ammonia to nitric oxide. The nitric oxide is further
reacted in the presence of water to produce nitric acid.

3 Nitric acid and ammonia are used to make ammonium nitrate. This material is a good fertilizer
component because it has a high concentration of nitrogen. The two materials are mixed together in a
tank and a neutralization reaction occurs, producing ammonium nitrate. This material can then be
stored until it is ready to be granulated and blended with the other fertilizer components.

Phosphorous fertilizer component

4 To isolate phosphorus from phosphate rock, it is treated with sulfuric acid, producing
phosphoric acid. Some of this material is reacted further with sulfuric acid and nitric acid to produce a
triple superphosphate, an excellent source of phosphorous in solid form.

5 Some of the phosphoric acid is also reacted with ammonia in a separate tank. This reaction
results in ammonium phosphate, another good primary fertilizer.

Potassium fertilizer component

6 Potassium chloride is typically supplied to fertilizer manufacturers in bulk. The manufacturer

converts it into a more usable form by granulating it. This makes it easier to mix with other fertilizer
components in the next step.

Granulating and blending

7 To produce fertilizer in the most usable form, each of the different compounds, ammonium
nitrate, potassium chloride, ammonium phosphate, and triple superphosphate are granulated and
blended together. One method of granulation involves putting the solid materials into a rotating drum
which has an inclined axis. As the drum rotates, pieces of the solid fertilizer take on small spherical
shapes. They are passed through a screen that separates out adequately sized particles. A coating of
inert dust is then applied to the particles, keeping each one discrete and inhibiting moisture retention.
Finally, the particles are dried, completing the granulation process.

8 The different types of particles are blended together in appropriate proportions to produce a
composite fertilizer. The blending is done in a large mixing drum that rotates a specific number of
turns to produce the best mixture possible. After mixing, the fertilizer is emptied onto a conveyor belt,
which transports it to the bagging machine.

Bagging

9 Fertilizers are typically supplied to farmers in large bags. To fill these bags the fertilizer is first
delivered into a large hopper. An appropriate amount is released from the hopper into a bag that is held
open by a clamping device. The bag is on a vibrating surface, which allows better packing. When
filling is complete, the bag is transported upright to a machine that seals it closed. The bag is then

conveyored to a palletizer, which stacks multiple bags, readying them for shipment to distributors and
eventually to farmers.