urea is sometimes modified to enhance the efficiency of its agricultural use. Techniques to make controlled-release fertilizers that slow the release of nitrogen include the encapsulation of urea in an inert sealant, and conversion of urea into derivatives such as urea-formaldehyde compounds, which degrade into ammonia at a pace matching plants' nutritional requirements. Resins Urea is a raw material for the manufacture of urea-formaldehyde resins, used mainly in wood-based panels such as particleboard, fiberboard and plywood. Explosives Urea can be used to make urea nitrate, a high explosive that is used industrially and as part of some improvised explosive devices. Automobile systems Urea is used in Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) reactions to reduce the pollutants in exhaust gases from combustion from diesel, dual fuel, and lean-burn natural gas engines. The BlueTec system, for example, injects a water-based urea solution into the exhaust system. Ammonia () first produced by the hydrolysis of urea reacts with nitrogen oxides () and is converted into nitrogen gas () and water within the catalytic converter. The conversion of noxious to innocuous is described by the following simplified global equation: When urea is used, a pre-reaction (hydrolysis) occurs to first convert it to ammonia: Being a solid highly soluble in water (545 g/L at 25 °C), urea is much easier and safer to handle and store than the more irritant, caustic and hazardous ammonia (), so it is the reactant of choice. Trucks and cars using these catalytic converters need to carry a supply of diesel exhaust fluid, also sold as AdBlue, a solution of urea in water. Laboratory uses Urea in concentrations up to 10 M is a powerful protein denaturant as it disrupts the noncovalent bonds in the proteins. This property can be exploited to increase the solubility of some proteins. A mixture of urea and choline chloride is used as a deep eutectic solvent (DES), a substance similar to ionic liquid. When used in a deep eutectic solvent, urea gradually denatures the proteins that are solubilized. Urea can in principle serve as a hydrogen source for subsequent power generation in fuel cells. Urea present in urine/wastewater can be used directly (though bacteria normally quickly degrade urea). Producing hydrogen by electrolysis of urea solution occurs at a lower voltage () and thus consumes less energy than the electrolysis of water (). Urea in concentrations up to 8 M can