Analysis of Dicyandiamide in Fertilizers

The dicyandiamide contained in calcium cyanamide is used as a type of nitrification suppressant to inhibit ammonia from changing into nitric acid. In accordance with the partial revision to the matters specifying official standards for general fertilizers based on the Fertilizers Regulation Act (The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan; Notification No. 1985; dated August 8, 2012), the content of dicyandiamide-nitrogen in calcium cyanamide is to be 20.0 % or less of the total nitrogen content.
This article introduces an example of the analysis of dicyandiamide in fertilizer, with reference to the fertilizer test method (2012) under the supervision of the Japan‘s Food and Agricultural Materials Inspection Center (FAMIC).